A Virtual Nightmare
by Willowsnake
Summary: Joey turns to Kaiba for help, albeit unintentionally, and a job: Testing a new virtual gaming system. But something goes horribly wrong. Can Kaiba fix it? Or rather, fix Joey? Puppyshipping! Gender-Bender! REVISED.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Cryin' by Aerosmith

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Summary:** Joey turns to Kaiba for help, albeit unintentionally, and a job: Testing a new virtual gaming system. But something goes horribly wrong. Can Kaiba fix it? Or rather, fix Joey?

* * *

**Chapter 1 – Cryin'**

It was Friday morning. Too early for anyone to be at school yet, but one certain blond individual was.

Joey sat silently in the empty classroom and stared blankly out the window. Salty tears trickled down his cut and bruised face, stinging his recent wounds. His tears seemed to fall in time with the light rain that trickled down the blurred windowpane. Rubbing his eyes vigorously, Joey sniffed and hugged himself in an attempt to warm his chilled body.

Yesterday had been one of the worst in his life. His boss claimed that she had to release him because she couldn't afford to keep him on due to the bad economy. Shocked that he'd lost his job, he then got scared when he realized he had to tell his father.

When he'd gone back to the apartment he shared with the drunk of a man, his father confronted him almost immediately. He demanded to know what he was doing home. He was supposed to be at work earning money for his booze. Of course, his father didn't say that, but it was implied. Joey told him that he'd lost his job. And this news just sent the old man over the edge.

He went into a rage. His father had beaten him good that time, leaving him barely conscious on the living room floor.

And then he'd kicked him out, telling him he was never allowed to come back. He wouldn't even let Joey get his things.

So the blond just went into the pouring rain in search of shelter.

He'd been like that for the rest of the night. Wet, cold, tired, and hungry. He could feel himself getting sick now.

* * *

_There was a time  
When I was so broken hearted  
Love wasn't much of a friend of mine  
The tables have turned, yeah  
Cause me and them ways have parted  
That kind of love was the killin' kind  
Now listen  
All I want is someone I can't resist  
I know all I need to know by the way that I got kissed_

_

* * *

_

Joey sniffed again, pulling his knees up to his chest, wrapping his numb arms around them. He rested his chin atop his knees and shivered. Closing his eyes, Joey started to doze off.

He snapped out of his drowsy state when he heard a loud noise behind him. Joey weakly turned his head, merely to see the one and only Seto Kaiba staring at him.

"You're here early, Mutt," Kaiba commented. "Did you get kicked out of the kennel early today?" He smirked at his joke. But Joey didn't respond; he just stared at Kaiba. It unnerved him slightly. "Mutt?"

Still no response. Although he was concerned, Kaiba didn't show it. He swiftly approached Joey. "Mutt?" he called again. "Why won't you say anything?"

"What's there to say?" Joey answered hoarsely.

This took Kaiba by surprise. Upon closer inspection of Joey's face, he noticed a large bruise around his left eye, along with numerous cuts. They looked recent. His eyes were also red and puffy, like he'd been crying. And he looked…pale. There was also a little puddle of water around the chair Joey was sitting in.

"You're soaking wet, Mutt. Go to the bathroom and dry yourself off," ordered Kaiba. When the blond made no signs of moving, he reached out and grabbed one of his arms, only to have Joey hiss out in pain as he desperately tried to pull his arm back.

Kaiba froze.

"Just leave me alone," Joey said, barely audible. He tried to move away from Kaiba. Slipping off his chair, the blond braced himself for the imminent impact of the hard tiled floor, but it never came.

Joey hesitantly opened his eyes. Kaiba was gently holding him by the arms. But he couldn't feel him. Was he that numb from the cold? Joey shivered again, consciousness fading.

Kaiba felt him shiver and panicked when he felt the blond go limp. "Mutt? Wake up," he hissed, shaking Joey lightly. There was no reaction. "Mutt?" Kaiba sighed, pulling out his cell phone while he kept Joey steady.

"Hello? Yes. I need you to come back and get me," Kaiba told his limo driver. Hanging up his cell, Kaiba lifted Joey bridal style, astounded that he felt so light. "Come on, Puppy. Let's get you cleaned up," he muttered, quickly leaving the classroom and heading out the front doors of the school. His eyes panned the front of the schoolyard and he noticed that his limo was already there.

Going through the opened door, Kaiba gracefully slid in with Joey still in his arms. "Take me home," Kaiba called to his driver. The driver nodded and went to his seat, preparing to take his boss to the Kaiba Mansion.

* * *

_I was cryin' when I met you  
Now I'm tryin' to forget you  
Love is sweet misery  
I was cryin' just to get you  
Now I'm dyin' cause I let you  
Do what you do - down on me_

_

* * *

_

When Kaiba felt the limo move, he looked down at Joey and felt a tiny pang in his chest. _What happened to you, Puppy? Who did this to you? Don't worry. I'll take care of you…whether you want me to or not. _Kaiba inwardly smirked, growing amused with the apparent challenge he had ahead of him.

His arms tightened protectively around Joey when he heard him whimper, inching closer to the CEO's chest.

Joey abruptly woke with a start. Where was he? He looked up, his startled amber eyes meeting Kaiba's concerned blue ones. "Kaiba?" he said roughly. His throat hurt. Swallowing difficulty, he asked, "Where am I?"

"You're in my limo. You passed out. I'm taking you to my mansion," he replied in a neutral voice.

"Why?" Joey said. It really hurt to talk.

"A Master should really take care of his Puppy," Kaiba answered with a smirk.

"Not…a…dog," he strained out.

"Try not to talk right now. You're really weak. But I'll take care of that soon enough," Kaiba said, allowing Joey to sit up. He moved Joey next to him. "How are you feeling?"

Joey held his head in his hands. "Dizzy…cold." He shivered again. "So cold," he murmured.

* * *

_Now there's not even breathin' room  
Between pleasure and pain  
Yeah you cry when we're makin' love  
Must be one and the same_

_

* * *

_

"Mr. Kaiba? We've arrived," announced the driver.

Kaiba turned to Joey. "We're here. Do you think you can walk?" he asked, stepping out of the limo and beckoning the blond to follow him.

Joey slid across the seat and put his feet on the wet ground outside the limo. He tried to lift himself up but was too weak to do so. Joey looked feebly at Kaiba.

"I-"

"It's all right. I've got you," Kaiba said, scooping Joey up in his arms. He blushed lightly while Kaiba carried him. They entered the mansion with the blond gawking at everything in sight.

"Like what you see, Puppy?" he asked, amused.

"It's…really nice," he mumbled. Joey frowned when Kaiba entered a bedroom and placed him on a bed. The room was blue, which could only mean one thing: this was Kaiba's bedroom.

"Um…Kaiba? What-?"

"I'll be right back, Pup," Kaiba interrupted, going through an open door adjacent to his room. It looked like a bathroom. Joey took the opportunity to look around. The bed he sat on had blue silk sheets and a dark blue comforter with a large Blue-Eyes White Dragon on it. There was even a Blue-Eyes mural on one of the walls. A large desk rested underneath a large bay window that seemed to overlook the mansion's garden. Papers were filed neatly on the desk and he also noticed a few framed photographs of Kaiba and Mokuba on the bedside table.

He heard Kaiba return and jerked when he felt strong fingers trying to unbutton his school jacket. Joey's hands shot out to stop them.

"What're yya doin'?" Joey asked, alarm clearly lacing his voice.

Kaiba sighed in irritation. "You need to get out of these wet clothes. And in your current state I highly doubt that you can manage it by yourself. Now, will you let me help you?"

He stared at him for a minute until Joey reluctantly nodded his head, giving Kaiba his approval. The brunet finished unbuttoning his jacket and pulled it off. Next he moved onto Joey's shirt. The blond looked off to the side as Kaiba unbuttoned that, too.

He inhaled sharply when he felt Kaiba gently touch the bruises on his chest, but the brunet didn't say anything. Instead, he tried to make eye contact with Joey, but he had his gaze focused elsewhere. Pulling Joey's shirt off, Kaiba took one of the big towels he brought with him and gently started drying his upper body off. He wrapped the towel around the blond's shoulders when he was done.

Next, Kaiba moved on to Joey's feet. He removed the blond's shoes and socks and placed them off to the side. Reaching for Joey's pants, he hesitated. "Do…you want to take a bath? You can warm up quicker that way."

Joey brought his attention to Kaiba again. "Okay," he muttered slowly. Kaiba got up and went into the bathroom. The blond could hear him turning on the faucet, filling the tub with water. When he came back, Kaiba carried a large, fluffy blue robe.

"You can finish undressing and put this on. I'll check on the bath," Kaiba said quickly, leaving the room.

Joey looked down at the robe Kaiba had left on the bed. Pulling the towel off his shoulders, the blond shakily took his pants and boxers off, leaving them on the floor. He put on the robe, sighing at its comfort.

"Are you done? Your bath is ready," the brunet announced, gradually coming back into the room. Joey nodded as he tried to stand. Kaiba rushed to his side when he started to wobble. "Come on."

Kaiba led him to the bathroom bit by bit. Joey stopped abruptly, taking in the sight of the magnificent bathroom in awe. "Wow."

"I'm glad you like it. Now let's get you warmed up," Kaiba said, guiding Joey to the tub.

"A bubble bath?" the blond inquired, raising an eyebrow at the CEO.

"What?" Kaiba exclaimed, blushing. "If you need my help, I highly doubt you want me seeing your…package while I'm doing so! This was all I could think of!"

_That was actually…thoughtful. Embarrassin'…but thoughtful. But there is no way in hell he's helpin' me bathe myself_, Joey thought.

Kaiba helped Joey step into the tub. "Hot," he hissed.

"It just feels hot because you're so cold. Take your time," Kaiba assured him.

As Joey lowered himself, Kaiba pulled the robe off him. He didn't see a thing, much to Joey's relief.

"I can do this myself ya know," Joey stated when Kaiba just stood there.

The brunet snapped out of his stupor. "Okay. I'll be in my room. Call me when you're finished." And with that, Kaiba left the blond to himself.

* * *

_It's down on me  
Yeah I got to tell you one thing  
It's been on my mind  
Girl I gotta say  
We're partners in crime  
You got that certain something  
What you give to me  
Takes my breath away  
Now the word out on the street  
Is the devil's in your kiss  
If our love goes up in flames  
It's a fire I can't resist_

_

* * *

_

Joey slowly and gently washed himself, gasping and hissing every now and then when soap landed in a wound. Rinsing himself off, Joey grabbed one of the large towels Kaiba had left him. He placed it on the edge of the tub. Carefully lifting himself up, he sat on the edge of the tub. Grabbing the other big towel, Joey started drying himself off. As he wrapped the towel securely around himself, he let the water out of the tub.

"Puppy?" Joey jumped at the sound, almost falling off the edge of the tub, but Kaiba caught him.

"I told you to call me when you were done," the brunet said firmly. "You could have hurt yourself."

"Sorry. I thought I could…" Joey trailed off and looked at the floor.

Kaiba didn't know what to make of him at the moment. He was acting so…passive…timid.

"Um…here are some clothes you can wear for now," continued Kaiba, offering Joey a pile of clothes, which included a pair of boxers. "Get dressed."

"Turn around," Joey insisted. Kaiba sighed and turned his back on him, crossing his arms in the process.

Joey pulled on the red boxers. They were silky and comfortable. He put on the pair of soft black cotton pants next, as well as a warm black sweater and white wool socks.

"I'm done," the blond announced. Kaiba turned around and helped Joey back to his room. He pulled back the covers of his bed and told him to get in.

Joey hesitated for a moment, but he was just so tired. He crawled into the bed and watched in astonishment as Kaiba tucked him in. He even fluffed the pillows so that Joey could sit up.

"Why are ya doin' this? Why are ya helpin' me?" Joey asked softly.

"I'm doing this because I want to. Remember, Masters take care of their Puppies. And it doesn't look like this Master has been doing a very good job at taking care of his Puppy." Kaiba sat on the bed next to Joey. "What happened?" Kaiba asked gently. The blond just seemed to fade out. "Joey. Please tell me?"

Joey whipped his head, shocked that Kaiba had said both his name _and_ please. "Y-Yesterday…I lost my job. When I told m-my d-dad…he got re-really mad." At this a tear ran down Joey's cheek. "He started hittin' me. I-I couldn't stop him. Then he kicked me out and told me to never come back. H-He wouldn't even l-let me get any of m-my th-things," Joey finished.

He wasn't too sure how Kaiba would react to him being so weak in his presence; it couldn't be good. Boy, was he wrong.

"Oh, Puppy," Kaiba sighed, wrapping his arms around Joey gently, feeling him tremble from his contained sobs. "Just let it all out." The blond let loose and cried harder than he ever had before at the kind and unexpected action from the brunet.

* * *

_I was cryin' when I met you  
Now I'm tryin' to forget you  
Your love is sweet misery  
I was cryin' just to get you  
Now I'm dyin' cause I let you  
Do what you do to me_

_

* * *

_

It felt like an hour before Joey finally stopped crying. _Where'd he dredge up all these tears, anyhow? He's got to be thirsty after this. _"Hey. Are you hungry? I'll go and get you something to eat," Kaiba offered.

"Okay," Joey replied softly, patting his eyes dry.

"I'll be right back," Kaiba said, getting off the bed. He ruffled Joey's glossy blond hair in the process.

The blond blushed when Kaiba finally left the room. Letting out his breath, he collapsed on the bed, pulling a big, cushy pillow to his chest. He squeezed it and breathed in. _It smells like Seto. Wait…Seto? Since when do I call him that?_

Joey fought with his thoughts until he heard Kaiba return. He held a tray filled with all sorts of things. The blond sat up again and watched as the brunet placed the tray of food in front of him. He sat down on the bed next to Joey, making himself comfortable.

"I didn't know what you liked, so I just put together whatever I could think of," Kaiba started sheepishly.

Joey looked at the tray before him. There was apple juice, milk, a bowl of warm chicken noodle soup, a turkey sandwich, crackers, toast with butter, yogurt, carrot sticks, and diced peaches. Hesitantly, the blond reached for the spoon and tasted the soup. It was delicious. In a matter of seconds, he'd downed the bowl. He was _so_ hungry. When was the last time he'd had a decent meal?

Joey grabbed the sandwich and took a bite. His mouth watered. He devoured everything hungrily, leaving nothing untouched. Feeling completely full for once, Joey leaned back and sighed in content. "That was really good." He turned to look at Kaiba, only to find an odd expression on his face. "What?" the blond asked unsurely.

Kaiba's eyes narrowed. "When was the last time you had something to eat? You ate like you were starving."

The last time he ate? "I…I think it was…Wednesday at lunch," Joey answered quietly.

"How often do you get to eat? How many meals do you eat a day?" Kaiba stated, unexpectedly more concerned for Joey's health.

"Um…o-one…two…if I'm lucky." Joey started wringing his hands.

Kaiba took the tray away and put it on the floor. He got under the covers with Joey and pulled him into his arms. "Well that's going to stop. You're staying here from now on."

"No," Joey said, pushing Kaiba away. "I can't put ya out-"

"You're not putting me out, Puppy. There's plenty of room here for you and I'm sure Mokuba won't mind. Besides, I do have the money to spend on you."

"B-But…it doesn't feel right," Joey persisted. "And besides…ya hate me."

"I don't hate you, Puppy. In fact, it's quite the opposite," he said as he brushed Joey's hair out of his face tenderly. Kaiba knew what he meant, though. Joey didn't want to be given everything on a silver platter for nothing. "Would you like to work for me then? Just think of it as a way to pay me back, if you will."

Joey thought about it for a moment and nodded in compliance. "Okay. But what will I be doin'?"

"I'll figure something out," Kaiba muttered, pulling Joey back into his arms. He leaned back against the pillows and stroked Joey's hair lightly. "Now get some sleep. I'll be right here, so you can relax. Okay? I'm right here. You don't have to worry about anything anymore."

Joey nodded tiredly. "So…ya don't hate me?" he asked quietly.

"No. I don't hate you."

Joey smiled sweetly, letting his eyes drift closed. "Good…because I…don't hate ya…either," he said between yawns.

Kaiba smiled when he felt Joey relax against him, his head nestled on his chest. He continued stroking Joey's hair, even when he heard the blond snoring softly. Becoming drowsy himself, the brunet soon fell asleep as well.

* * *

_Cause what you got inside  
Ain't where your love should stay  
Yeah, our love, sweet love, ain't love  
If you give your heart away_

_

* * *

_

"Seto? I'm home!" called Mokuba. "Seto?" Curious, the young boy headed for his brother's room and knocked. When there wasn't an answer, he opened it and peeked inside. He was shocked to see his brother sleeping, but even more so when he noticed Joey in his brother's bed. Stepping quietly into the room, he approached them and poked his brother in the arm.

Groggily opening his eyes, he nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Mokuba peering at him. "Mokuba? What time is it?"

"Four in the afternoon. What's Joey doing here?" he whispered, looking at the blond. His eyes widened when he saw Joey's face. "What happened to him?" Mokuba asked a little too loudly.

"Shh," Kaiba hissed, glancing at Joey, but he was still sound asleep. "I found him early this morning in our classroom. He was dripping wet and shivering. He passed out so I brought him here to clean him up. It turns out he lost his job. His father wasn't too pleased with that, so he beat him and kicked him out. That man wouldn't even let him take his things," he spat out. "He'll be staying with us from now on. Is that all right with you?"

Mokuba looked flabbergasted. "Of course it's all right with me. But why are you-?" He smirked when he seemed to realize something. "Oh, I know. You like him, don't you?" he said mischievously.

A bright red blush erupted on Kaiba's face at Mokuba's deduction. "Shut up," was his clever response. He jerked when he felt Joey move.

"Kaiba?" The blond sat up and stretched.

"Hey. How are you feeling, Puppy?"

"Better. A lot better. Oh. Hi, Mokuba. I…hope ya don't mind me…stayin' here," Joey stated awkwardly.

"It's fine, Joey. I'm glad you're staying here. Are you hungry?"

At this, Joey's stomach growled loudly. Embarrassed, the blond bit his lip. "Um…"

Mokuba laughed. "Okay. Seto? Can we order a few pizzas and watch a movie while we eat?"

"Sure." The younger Kaiba cheered and ran out of the room to order pizza. "Obviously, you'll be joining us. Do you need help getting downstairs?"

"I don't think so. Let me use the bathroom first and then we'll go down," Joey replied, getting up from the bed slowly and heading into the bathroom. Kaiba took that time to change out of his school clothes and into something more comfortable to romp around at home in.

When Joey came back, they headed downstairs without any problems. The blond had improved greatly after eating a decent meal and sleeping off his exhaustion. They headed for the living room.

"You're here! I set up some snacks and stuff. The pizza will be here soon," exclaimed Mokuba. He had set up some sodas, chips, popcorn, and candy on the coffee table in front of the small couch. It seated two people. There was a blanket there as well.

"You and Seto sit here," Mokuba said, indicating the couch. "I got a blanket for you Joey…in case you get cold. Are…you sure you're okay?" he asked worriedly.

Joey smiled slightly and ruffled Mokuba's hair gently. "Yes. I'm fine. And thanks for the blanket. That was really thoughtful of ya."

Mokuba smiled, but sprung away from Joey when he heard the doorbell ring. "Pizza!" he shouted.

Kaiba and Joey laughed at Mokuba's excitement. Growing tired from standing, Joey resignedly sat down on the right side of the couch, propping his feet up on the coffee table. Kaiba noticed this and decided to do a bit of reorganizing so that Joey would be more comfortable.

First, he brought two small tables to each side of the couch. After that he dragged a comfortable armchair next to the couch on Joey's side and added another small table to the open side of the chair. Kaiba divided the sodas and snacks amongst the three tables and pulled the coffee table closer to Joey. He placed down a pillow and propped Joey's feet on it so that he would be more comfortable.

"Ya didn't have to do all that," Joey muttered quietly as Kaiba took the blanket and wrapped it around him snuggly.

"I know. But I want to."

"PIZZA! Pizzapizzapizzapizzapizza," announced Mokuba, coming in with two large boxes of pizza. Placing them on the coffee table, the young boy shouted, "I'll go get plates!" He darted off for where Joey supposed was the kitchen.

Grabbing a can of soda, Joey attempted to open it. He sighed in aggravation. He must really be out of it if he couldn't manage to open something as simple as a can of soda. The blond looked at Kaiba shyly. "Kaiba?"

He looked at Joey and then at the outstretched hand holding the soda can. He chuckled. "Poor Puppy," Kaiba teased, taking the can and opening it. "You'll be better in no time. Don't worry."

"I hope so," Joey replied.

Mokuba then rushed back into the room, paper plates and napkins in hand. He set them on the coffee table and opened the first box of pizza. Placing two slices of pizza on each plate, he distributed them and the napkins. Next he raced over to the DVD player and inserted a DVD. He raced back over to the chair awaiting him, remote in hand, and plopped himself in it.

"Are you guys ready?" asked Mokuba.

"Yeah. What are we watchin'?" questioned Joey.

"_Underworld_!" Mokuba exclaimed triumphantly through a mouthful of pizza.

"Again?" groaned Kaiba. "You've watched it like what…forty times already?"

"Forty-seven. This will make forty-eight."

Kaiba stifled another groan as he took a bite of his pizza.

Joey looked between the two of them. _It must be nice to have a family like this. All the nonsense bickerin' and teasin'. And no matter what, they continue to look after one another._ He wished he could have that. He'd give anything to have that.

* * *

_I was cryin' when I met you  
Now I'm tryin' to forget you  
Your love is sweet misery  
I was cryin' just to get you  
Now I'm dyin' just to let you  
Do what you do what you do down to me, baby, baby, baby_

_

* * *

_

Growing depressed by his thoughts, he put his plate of pizza aside and just watched the movie, much to Kaiba's dismay.

"Pup? Why aren't you eating? Are you feeling okay?" he asked concernedly, placing his pizza off to the side as well.

Joey forced a smile as he fought back tears. "I'm fine. I guess I'm not really that hungry."

Kaiba's eyes narrowed. "You need to eat, Joey. You can't keep going around skipping meals otherwise you're going to become seriously ill."

"I know that," he responded quietly. "It's just…" _I will not cry. I will not cry. _He sniffed and took a deep breath. "I…" He shook his head and gave up trying to explain himself.

"Puppy," Kaiba said seriously. "Tell me." Mokuba stopped watching the movie when he heard his brother use that tone. And that's all it took for Joey to start crying.

"Puppy, it's okay," Kaiba said soothingly, trying to comfort the blond. "I just want to know what's wrong."

Mokuba paused the movie so that he could figure out what was wrong with Joey also. "Joey? You can tell us."

"It's stupid," the blond muttered.

"Whatever you say will not be stupid. Just tell us," insisted Kaiba earnestly.

"I want…what ya guys have," Joey began quietly. "A…lovin' family…I can be a part of."

Mokuba and Kaiba were stunned by his confession. Joey took their silence as a sign that they thought he was being silly. "I told ya it was stupid."

"No, Puppy. It's not stupid," Kaiba said, rubbing his back.

"Yeah, Joey. It's not stupid at all. Lots of people want that," Mokuba added.

"But it doesn't mean they'll get it," Joey replied bitterly.

Mokuba sighed and sat on the other side of Joey, scooting close to him. "Maybe not everyone. But you can. You've got your sister, your friends, and…me and Seto."

Joey laughed softly. "You're right about that…but my sister lives so far away and mom won't let me come see her. My friends have families of their own and some of them have their Yamis. Ya guys…well…ya just took in a stray. It's not the same as havin' a real family. Maybe…mutts aren't supposed to."

Mokuba glared at his brother angrily, making the stoic CEO flinch.

"Puppy? That's not true." Joey looked up at Kaiba. He'd never seen the blond look so vulnerable before. "Everyone deserves to have a family that loves them. Even you. And…for the time being…you can be…a part of our…family," Kaiba said tentatively. He wasn't sure how Joey was going to respond to that.

Joey appeared confused. "What do ya mean?"

"I mean that you can stay here for as long as you need and we'll…always be here for you. You might even be lucky enough to take part in our family outings. If that's okay with you?"

For the first time in a long while, Joey gave a real smile. "Thank ya. I'd like that very much."

"Good. It's settled then," said Kaiba with a dignified nod.

"Yeah!" Mokuba launched himself into Joey's arms and hugged him. "Can we continue watching the movie now?" Joey nodded as Mokuba got off him, handing him back his pizza. "Eat it all!"

"Sure," Joey laughed. He turned to face Kaiba again. "And thanks…for everything. I really appreciate it."

"It's no problem." _No problem at all. And you will be a part of this family…in more ways than one if you'll let me._

They both started watching the movie again, satisfied with how they'd handled things so far.

After the movie was over, Mokuba was practically bouncing off the walls from his sugar intake.

"Mokuba? How about you go up to your room and play video games for a while. The Pup's tired, so I'm going to put him to bed."

"Okay, Seto," Mokuba answered, darting to his bedroom.

Kaiba glanced at the dozing blond leaning on his shoulder. He nudged him gently. "Come on, Pup. Let me take you to bed."

That woke him up. "What?" Joey screeched, stunned by Kaiba's suggestion.

"Not like that!" the brunet exclaimed, though it did sound pleasing enough.

"Oh," Joey said, realizing that he'd made a mistake.

"Let's go." Kaiba helped Joey up and led him up the stairs and into his bedroom.

"Um…Kaiba? Don't ya think…ya know…since I'll be stayin' here…that I should have my own room?" he asked timidly.

Kaiba paused in his movements and seemed to contemplate this. "Yes. You can. But not tonight. None of the other bedrooms are prepared for someone to stay in them. Tomorrow you can have your own room."

"Okay…Kaiba?"

"Yes?"

"I…I d-don't have anythin'," he said quietly.

"You can continue wearing my things until we get you new stuff, okay? Tomorrow, if you're feeling up to it, we'll stop by Kaiba Corp. so that I can set you up with your new job and then we'll go shopping. What do you think?"

"But-"

"I don't want to hear any arguments. I'm getting you new things whether you like it or not," Kaiba deadpanned.

"S-Sounds good," Joey stated awkwardly.

Satisfied with the blond's response, he beckoned for him to get into bed. He did. Pulling the covers over the both of them, they soon fell asleep, thinking about what the next day had in store for them.

* * *

_I was cryin' when I met you  
Now I'm tryin' to forget you  
Your love is sweet misery  
I was cryin' when I met you  
Now I'm dyin' cause I let you  
Do what you do down to , down to, down to, down to  
I was cryin' when I met you  
Now I'm dyin' to forget you  
Your love is sweet misery  
I was cryin' when I met you_

_

* * *

_

The next morning, everyone was dressed and ready to go to Kaiba Corp. Before they left, however, Kaiba spoke with his head maid, Ella.

"Ella? I need you to prepare the bedroom that's next to mine for our guest. He'll be staying with us for a while."

"Right away, sir," she said kindly. Ella was a woman who looked to be in her early fifties. She had graying hair and soft, kind eyes and had known the Kaiba boys for years. She was sort of like a mother to them. Although, at times, she could be…a handful. "Don't worry about a thing."

Pleased with her response, Kaiba headed toward where Joey and Mokuba were waiting for him. "Let's go."

They went out the door and into the waiting limo. It started up and they made their way to Kaiba Corp.

Joey was the first to break the silence. "Um, what exactly will I be doin'?"

"I planned on having you work as one of my beta game testers for my new virtual reality game. Are you interested?"

"Seto's been working on this new virtual reality game forever. It's going to be so cool," jumped in Mokuba.

"My job is gonna be testin' games? Ya bet I'm interested. It sounds like fun!" Joey replied eagerly. It was going to be great. Playing a game that no one else had played yet sounded awesome.

"I'm glad." Kaiba laughed at Joey's enthusiasm.

"Mr. Kaiba, sir. We've arrived," announced the driver.

"We're here!" Mokuba shouted, leaping from the limo. Joey and Kaiba followed suit, minus the leaping.

Joey was awestruck by the size of the Kaiba Corp. building. It was huge!

"Come, Pup. We wouldn't want you to get lost," said Kaiba, smirking.

The three of them entered an elevator that took them to the seventh floor. Kaiba stepped out swiftly and started walking down the long, brightly lit hallway. He made a right turn and entered a large room that had some sort of giant capsule in the middle. Computers and other equipment lined the walls. A few workers were here and there, typing away at some program.

"Good morning, Mr. Kaiba. The scripting for the program is just about finished," said one of the employees.

"Excellent. Is it ready to be tested yet?" he inquired.

"Yes. Is he going to be testing it?" the employee asked, indicating Joey.

Kaiba nodded. "You want to try it now, Pup?"

"Can I?" he asked. Kaiba nodded again. "Okay. What do I do?"

Kaiba jumped into an explanation. "You will just need to step into this capsule. It will scan your body and create a realistic virtual persona of yourself for game play. It will have the same strengths and weaknesses you have in real life. After the scanning is complete, you'll move onto a smaller capsule where your consciousness will jump into your computerized virtual body. Then you'll be ready to play."

"That sounds so cool," replied Joey.

"It's done sir," announced another one of Kaiba's employees.

"Are you ready to try it out?" asked Kaiba. Joey nodded his head excitedly. "Okay. Open the capsule."

The giant capsule's door opened and Joey cautiously stepped inside. "Just stand very still after the door closes. The computer will scan your body and when the door opens we can move on to the smaller capsule," Kaiba said.

When the door closed, the brunet ordered his employees to initiate the program. It started scanning Joey when a few sparks suddenly shot from the capsule.

"What's going on?" Kaiba demanded. The computers were going haywire.

"We don't know!" His employees were frantic.

Suddenly another big spark came from the capsule.

"Joey!" yelled Kaiba and Mokuba simultaneously. Another big spark burst from the capsule and all power in the room cut off.

"Get things up and running now! Get him out of there!" Kaiba said in a panicky voice. They were able to get the computers back online when the generator finally kicked in. And when it did, they heard Joey give a high-pitched scream.

"Get those doors open now!" Kaiba thundered worriedly.

Finally, the capsule doors opened, smoke seeping out.

"What the hell did ya do to me, Kaiba?" came a feminine-like yelp from inside the capsule.

When the smoke cleared, everyone's jaws dropped.

There stood Joey Wheeler.

A very naked and very female Joey Wheeler.

"Pu…ppy?" he balked, quickly covering his little brother's eyes.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Dude Looks Like A Lady by Aerosmith

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 2 – Dude Looks Like A Lady**

Joey Wheeler stood there in all her naked glory. She still looked somewhat like her male self, but only with a few minor changes.

But that made all the difference.

Joey's hair was a little bit longer, just reaching her shoulders. She was still slim, but now had distinguishable feminine curves. Despite her attempts to cover herself, Kaiba still noticed her perky apple-sized breasts and heart-shaped ass. Even her cuts and bruises were gone.

All in all, Joey Wheeler was a hottie. A pissed off hottie.

She didn't look too pleased.

Nope.

Not at all.

How would you feel if a bunch of guys just gawked at your naked body?

Kaiba finally realized he'd been staring at Joey for _far_ too long and blushed furiously. That stopped when he noticed everyone else was doing the same thing.

"Stop gawking and figure out what happened!" shrieked Kaiba while removing his trench coat, desperate to cover Joey at once.

Joey snatched it out of his hands and pulled it around her. "What did ya do to me? Why am I a girl?"

Kaiba had the audacity to look guilty. "I'm really, _really_ sorry, Joey. I don't know what happened." He turned to face his employees. "What the fuck did you do? Change Joey back to normal now!"

"We…can't sir," stuttered one of the men.

"And why not?" Kaiba demanded, glaring mercilessly at him.

"Yeah! Why not?" Joey yelped, clasping the trench coat tightly around her.

"The power surge fried the capsule and wiped out the program. As it was scanning him, something happened and it altered Mr. Wheeler's gender. The purpose of the program is to scan the body to create a virtual self image. Instead of creating a body for the virtual world, it created a…tangible body for the real world. When the system crashed, the scanning was interrupted, causing the program to reverse itself, as well as Mr. Wheeler's gender. It'll take a few weeks before we can get everything up and running normally again."

"What do you mean a few weeks? What happened to the backup files?" exclaimed Kaiba.

"Um…th-they've been wiped clean, sir."

Kaiba's glare worsened. "How?"

"Um…they…got…fried?" he answered sheepishly.

"How the fuck did it get fried?"

"We'd updated the backup files but...kind of forget to…remove the backup when we initiated the program. So…we lost both." He stammered his explanation all in one breath.

"So there's no choice but to wait," Kaiba growled in aggravation. His employee nodded. "Get on with it then."

"Ya mean I'm stuck like this? I don't wanna be a chick!" Joey screamed. She then started shouting like a maniac, mostly at Kaiba. He tried to ward her off in an attempt to calm her down, but had little success. Mokuba decided to step in.

"Joey?" She stopped her rampaging to turn her deathly glare on him.

"What?"

"Let's just go to Seto's office and figure out what to do there. The longer you're in here, the longer it'll take for them to fix everything."

Joey seemed appeased by Mokuba's logic. Barely. "Fine. Lead the way, _Kaiba_," she snarled menacingly.

* * *

_Cruised into a bar on the shore  
Her picture graced the grime on the door  
She a long lost love at first bite  
Baby maybe you're wrong but you know it's alright  
That's right_

_

* * *

_

It was quite a sight seeing Seto Kaiba without his usual trench coat and looking like he had his tail between his legs, followed by a girl wearing only his trench coat. She walked like she owned the place. Mokuba trailed behind, waiting for either his brother or Joey to explode…or cry. He wasn't sure which.

When they finally reached his office, Joey took charge.

"Sit. Now," she demanded. Kaiba plopped himself ungracefully in a chair, looking apprehensively at Joey. She approached him dangerously. "This…is…all…your…fault!" she growled, poking him in the chest each time for emphasis, but Kaiba wasn't making eye contact; his eyes weren't that high.

No.

His eyes were glued to her newly acquired breasts.

He couldn't help it if they bounced when she started poking him. It wasn't like he wanted to look. She was just so close.

Realizing that Kaiba had his attention…elsewhere, Joey pulled back her hand and slapped him across the face. Hard. "Ya pervert! I'm not even a girl for ten minutes and you're already undressin' me with your eyes!"

"He didn't have to do that. He already saw you naked," mumbled Mokuba.

"What was that?" Joey screamed, turning her fuming rage on the younger Kaiba.

He cowered. "N-Nothing! I said nothing!" he insisted.

Rounding on Kaiba again, she started yelling at him. "What the hell am I supposed to do? I can't go around lookin' like a girl! I don't even know anythin' about being a girl! What about school? This is so horrible!" She collapsed into the chair next to Kaiba.

"Well…look at the bright side," the brunet said after clearing his throat, rubbing his reddening cheek. Joey glared at him again.

"What bright side?" she deadpanned.

"At least your cuts and bruises are gone."

Joey laughed, although it was hollow and bitter. Then she began to cry. "What am I going to do?" she said hopelessly.

"Mokuba? Take the limo and go home. Tell Ella what happened. She'll know what to do. We'll return in a while. There are some…things we need to take care of first."

"Sure thing, Seto," Mokuba said as he left the office. He was glad to be out of there for now. It was just too much for him to handle.

"What are we doin'?" Joey questioned tearfully.

Kaiba took a deep breath. Where to start? "I…hope you know how sorry I am about this. I didn't know…I didn't think it was possible for-"

Joey silenced him with a finger to his lips. "I understand. I know it wasn't your fault. There was no way that ys could predict this was gonna happen. I don't blame ya. I'm just…really upset." She blushed when she realized she still had her finger on his lips. Pulling her finger away, the blonde looked out the window.

Kaiba swallowed hard. _Why the hell am I acting so skittish? Is it because I'm afraid of him—no her—getting angry? Or sad?_ "Joey? We need to figure out what you're going to do about school. I can make a few calls and say that you're an exchange student or something."

"That…could work. But what about my name? I can't go around in public bein' called Joey. Especially if the real Joey is missin'. Oh, no! What about my friends? They'll be worried sick!"

"Just calm down for a minute."

"I'd like to see ys calm down if ya were in my position right now."

She had a point. "Why don't you leave your friends a message saying that you had to make an urgent trip to see your sister?" Kaiba suggested.

"It sounds like it'll work. But how am I gonna-"

"Leave it to me. So…I guess we'll have to refer to you as a girl now, won't we?" he stated with a smirk. Joey slapped him again.

"It's not funny!" she snapped. "What about my name?"

"How about…Puppy?" Kaiba just couldn't resist teasing her.

"Will ya get off the dog stuff, ya jerk?"

"Sorry, Pup. How about…Katsuya…Katsuya Jounouchi?"

"I…I think I like that. Okay. For the time bein', I'll go by the name Katsuya Jounouchi…but ya can still call me Joey when we're not in public."

Kaiba nodded his approval. "I need to make a few calls and then we'll go back to the mansion. Okay?"

"Okay." Joey watched as Kaiba walked over to his desk and picked up the phone. He called someone to tell them to create some records for blonde that would be transferred to the school and to send out a message to all Joey's friends about his upcoming absence. Next, he called their school district and their school's administration.

After about thirty long minutes, Kaiba was finally done. "You start school on Monday…Katsuya Jounouchi."

"All right…wait. I don't have anythin' to wear!" she shrieked.

"Did you really think I hadn't thought of that?" Kaiba said, getting annoyed. "After we get back to the mansion, you'll change into something…more fitting…and then we'll go to Domino Mall. Ella will help you get what you need."

"But-"

"No buts. We're going. Are you ready to leave?"

"Yes," she grumbled while getting up from her seat. As Kaiba walked by her, he turned to say something, only to freak out when he saw Joey trip on the stupid trench coat and come hurtling toward him. He reached out to steady her.

"You need to be more careful, Pup." Kaiba shook his head while he tried not to laugh. As he moved away, he tripped over the trench coat.

And fell toward Joey.

And since he weighed a lot more than she did, he knocked them both over.

Onto the floor.

His face smashed against her breasts.

Kaiba groaned and opened his eyes. They widened in shock when he noted how they'd landed. Sputtering an apology, Kaiba scrambled off of Joey. She looked…alarmed to say the least.

When she didn't move, Kaiba grew concerned. "Joey? Are you okay?"

Joey was brought out of her temporary daze and slowly got up. "I'm…fine," she said quietly, her eyes looking down her body. _He…touched…my…boobs. His face touched my boobs! Oh, shit! I have boobs! _

You see, it was finally starting to sink in that Joey was a girl.

"Puppy?" Kaiba inquired again. Her head snapped up.

"I'm fine. Can we go now?" she said hurriedly.

"Yeah. The limo's waiting." Kaiba let her step ahead of him. He just felt safer that way.

When they finally exited Kaiba Corp., they slid into the waiting limo. Sitting down, Joey thought it was the perfect time to start…exploring her new body. Kaiba didn't realize what she was doing until it was too late.

He watched in astonishment as she started to slowly touch her face, letting her hand trail casually down her neck. She stroked her collarbone and moved her hand down just above her bosom. Taking both hands, she cupped each breast, lifted them slightly, squeezed, and dropped them. She did this a second time before gradually gliding her hands down her ribs and across her flat stomach. Her hands were about to reach her hips before Kaiba decided to put an end to it.

"Will you stop that!" he screeched. He'd felt himself starting to grow hard when she moved her small hands. And he thought his dreams had been bad.

Joey jumped at Kaiba's outburst and then blushed when she realized what she'd been doing in his presence. "Sorry," she mumbled quickly. They both faced the front of the limo, not saying a word.

The blonde rubbed her legs together. _Hey! My legs are smooth! _She started rubbing her legs together again then reached down. Joey placed her hands by her ankles and slowly ran them up her smooth legs.

"I told you to stop that!" Kaiba screeched again, desperately trying to hide his hardening manhood by crossing his legs.

"What? I'm sorry. It's just that I've never had boobs before or really smooth legs. I can't help it if I'm curious."

"Well, there's a time and place to satisfy your curiosity and now is _not_ that time," Kaiba growled out.

"Oh, grow up."

Something was growing up, but he wasn't going to let _her_ know that. _What the hell is wrong with me? I haven't been this aroused since that dream of me and Joey in the shower._ He growled again when that image flashed through his mind.

It was going to be a long trip home.

When they finally reached the mansion, Kaiba literally jumped out of the limo, Joey close at his heels. Entering the mansion, Ella automatically intercepted the blonde.

"Come, dear. We're going to get you into something decent and then we're going shopping. Mr. Kaiba behaved himself, didn't he?" Ella turned to face her boss, an evil glare plastered on her face.

"Yes! Kaiba was a real gentleman!" Joey said hastily. The glare was replaced with a wide grin.

"Good. Let's go, dear." Ella led Joey away, leaving Kaiba standing in the foyer, staring after them blankly.

"Seto?" called Mokuba, walking up to his brother. "Are we going to the mall, too?"

"Yes. And in public we'll be calling Joey by Katsuya Jounouchi," Kaiba answered softly. "I'm going to go take a shower before we go," he muttered as he headed for the stairs.

Mokuba stared after him, confused before he started smirking. "A cold one?"

Kaiba quickened his pace.

* * *

_Backstage we're having the time  
of our lives until somebody say  
Forgive me if I seem out of line  
Then she whipped out of her gun  
tried to blow me away_

_

* * *

_

_**Domino Mall**_

When Joey came out of the limo, she was wearing a pair of jeans, a simple t-shirt, and sneakers. They looked quite worn, but served their purpose well enough. Everyone else got out behind her.

Ella marched up to Kaiba and cleared her throat. Sighing, Kaiba pulled out his wallet and handed over one of his credit cards.

"Thank you," she smiled. "Come, my dear. Let's get you some nice things. A good-looking girl like you needs the best if she wants to get herself a handsome young man."

"What? But I don't wanna get a handsome young man! Kaiba! Help me!" she screamed as Ella started dragging her away to _Victoria's Secret_.

Kaiba and Mokuba stared after them.

"When do you think they'll be done?" asked Mokuba.

"Knowing Ella, probably a few hours. How about we get some other things for Joey until then?"

"Like a ring?" Mokuba giggled. Kaiba glared at him.

They marched off in the direction of some appealing shops in hopes of finding something to appease the blonde with.

* * *

_Dude looks like a lady_

_Dude looks like a lady_

_Dude looks like a lady_

_Dude looks like a lady_

_

* * *

_

_**A Few Hours Later**_

"Where the hell are they?" Kaiba asked, irritated, eyes scanning the mall.

"How am I supposed to know?" Mokuba replied.

"Oh, there you are, Mr. Kaiba," came a voice from behind them. They turned to see Ella.

"Where is she?" Kaiba demanded worriedly. Ella just laughed.

"I present to you your new and improved Joey Wheeler...or well, Katsuya Jounouchi," she said, stepping off to the side to reveal Joey. Kaiba inhaled sharply as he took in the blonde's appearance.

Her hair had been cut stylishly, favoring a flipped hairstyle. Joey's fringed bangs were cut at an angle and were combed straight down, the sides flowing into graduated lengths. The ends of her silky blonde locks flipped up as they touched her exposed shoulders.

Joey's eyes were accented with plum-colored eyeliner, golden eye shadow, and black mascara. Her lips were even accentuated with lip gloss.

Kaiba's eyes trailed down her exquisite figure. Joey wore a floral and paisley babydoll tank that matched her eyeliner, followed by tight black leggings that reached midway down her calves. She also had on a pair of black flats.

"What…do ya think?" Joey asked quietly.

"You l-look nice," Kaiba stuttered. The blonde blushed slightly.

"Well, I think she looks beautiful. Oh! And I already had someone deliver all her things to the mansion. She has everything she needs for all occasions," Ella announced, pleased with herself.

"Just how much did you buy?" Kaiba inquired.

"Enough for a young woman. Tata!" Ella waved at them and left the mall, leaving Kaiba, Mokuba, and Joey all alone.

The blonde looked down at her shoes sheepishly. For some reason, she was hoping for the floor to swallow her whole. She was embarrassed and didn't feel beautiful at all.

Mokuba then jabbed his brother in the stomach.

"Uh…Joey…er…Katsuya?" Kaiba started. Joey glanced at him. "A-Are you hungry or anything? Because we could go get something to eat. Or we could go back to the mansion. Or we-"

Joey pressed a finger to his lips, silencing him; he blushed, remembering that she'd done this back in his office. "Lunch sounds nice."

"Hey! Can we go to that burger place over there?" Mokuba asked. They both nodded and watched as the young boy darted in the direction of the burger joint, Kaiba and Joey trailing behind.

"I hope you know how sorry I am about this. I really didn't mean for any of this to happen. I'm really sorry."

"Kaiba? You're ramblin'. And you've told me this already. I don't blame ya," said Joey with a smile, but it soon faded. "It's not your fault…_completely_, anyway. I guess I'll just have to…wait before I can change back…"

"Are you guys coming or not?" shouted Mokuba.

"We're coming," answered Kaiba. He looked at Joey once again. "Everything will be all right. Trust me."

She smiled slightly and turned her amber eyes to Kaiba. "The crazy thing is…I think I do."

Kaiba laughed and placed his hand on the small of her back and nervously guided her toward the burger place, where Mokuba was waiting for them.

They placed their orders and headed for a booth. Mokuba slid into one side and Joey the other. Kaiba sat himself next to Joey. That's when the blonde noticed that the brothers held shopping bags.

"What did ya buy?" Joey asked curiously.

"Oh! These are for you," said Mokuba, handing the bag he held over to Joey. "It's kind of an apology and welcoming gift all in one."

Joey hesitantly took the bag from Mokuba and looked inside.

"Cute. Really cute," the blonde laughed. She pulled out a Red-Eyes Black Dragon plushie. There were also some duel monsters card packs. "Thank you, Mokuba. That was really kind of you." Mokuba blushed slightly at her comment and then looked at his brother expectantly.

Kaiba cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head shyly. _Why the hell am I acting this way? It's only Joey. I really liked Joey before he became a girl, so why am I acting so strange now?_ _Maybe I just don't know how to act around girls or something. _"Here," he said, thrusting a small bag to Joey.

She took it, peaked inside, and giggled. Kaiba wasn't really expecting a giggle, but thought it was cute anyway. Joey pulled out a cell phone that had a chibi Red-Eyes Black Dragon charm hanging from it. "Thank ya," she said softly.

"I-It's s-so you can call whenever you need to. Like if you need h-help or anything. Emergencies or whatever." _When the hell did I start stuttering? Is it really because Joey's a girl? _"There's more."

The blonde looked in the bag again. "My deck! But how did ya-"

"It was actually in the pocket of your school jacket. I just hadn't had the chance to give it back to you until now."

"Thank ya."

"You're welcome.

"Hey! The food's here," Mokuba exclaimed happily.

Kaiba stared at his burger for a moment and then began eating. When he looked back at Joey, he noticed that she started devouring her food at a rapid pace. She was finished in a matter of minutes.

Sitting back, Joey appeared to be deep in thought. "Kaiba?"

"Hm?"

"How…do I look? Am I…okay looking…as a girl?" she asked hesitantly. Kaiba choked on his burger. Joey patted him on the back until he could breathe again.

"How do you look? Um…well…you look…um…" Mokuba kicked him in the shin. "Ow…um…p-pretty. You look pretty." Kaiba cringed, hoping Joey wouldn't get mad because he'd just called the blonde duelist pretty.

"Ya really think so?" she asked inquisitively, leaning closer to Kaiba.

"Yes," Kaiba squeaked out, though in a manly way of course.

She smiled halfheartedly. "Thanks…but ya really don't have to lie. I know I'm not, but it's okay, I guess."

"Wha-"

"Just finish your burger…I…don't feel like talkin' right now."

Kaiba sighed and both he and Mokuba quickly finished eating.

"Puppy? You-"

"Can we go please?" Joey asked quietly, cutting off Kaiba. When he didn't say anything, she asked again. "Please?" She looked at him with tears in her eyes, but she didn't let them fall.

"Sure. We'll go. Mokuba?"

Mokuba got up and regarded the two of them warily. Kaiba led Joey out of her seat and they exited the mall, heading into the waiting limo.

The ride to the Kaiba Mansion was a quiet one. The Kaiba brothers didn't know what they'd done to cause Joey's mood swing or what to say to cheer her up, so they just sat there in silence.

When they finally reached the mansion, Ella greeted them.

"Hello, my dears. How was-Joey, what's wrong?" Her eyes narrowed at her boss, making him flinch.

"Nothing," came her solemn reply.

"Would you like to go up to your room, dear?" Ella asked politely.

"Yes."

"Okay. Follow me." She led Joey up the stairs.

Mokuba and Kaiba watched them go.

"What's wrong with Joey?" Mokuba asked worriedly.

"I have no idea. But I'm going to find out."

Kaiba headed up the stairs, only to be accosted by Ella in the hallway.

"What did you do to that poor girl?" she demanded.

"I didn't do anything. She asked about how I thought she looked. I said she looked pretty, but she didn't believe me," he explained, hoping that Ella wouldn't _accidently _push him down the stairs or something.

"Well, you better go talk to her."

"What do I say?"

"Oh, men. All the same," she grumbled as she left Kaiba alone in the hallway. Well, that was helpful.

Kaiba turned to face the door to Joey's room. Hesitantly, he knocked on the door. Receiving no answer, he decided to open it. He stepped into the room when he saw Joey curled up on the bed; she was crying and hugging her dragon plushie. Numerous unopened packages littered the floor.

"Joey? Can we talk?" The only response he got was a sniff, but she did turn to face him.

Kaiba hesitantly sat on the bed, making Joey sit up, the plushie still clutched against her chest. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Ya don't like me like this," Joey stated softly.

The brunet was quite taken aback because his body didn't seem to think so. "What makes you think that?" he asked, confused.

"Because you're treatin' me differently. Whenever I get close…" she said, moving closer to Kaiba, causing him to flinch, "…ya do that." Disheartened, she returned to her previous position. "Ya don't like me like this."

"No. You have it all wrong. The only reason I do that is because…because…I do like you like this…as a girl. It's just that…I'm not used to being around…girls…especially pretty ones," he said with a minor smirk. Joey blushed.

"So I don't disgust ya?"

"Is that what you thought? You could never disgust me. Well…maybe when you're eating, but that's a completely different story," he answered, smirking full blast this time.

Joey gave him a minor glare, but she was glad that having a female body didn't disgust the brunet. When she was a guy, she'd been in love with the CEO and she had also sensed that he liked her back to some degree. But now that she was a girl, she'd feared that what had drawn him to her was her gender, and being a girl made her think that he wouldn't like her anymore. But Kaiba seemed to disagree. He liked her like this, which made Joey worry a bit. She had to get a few things straight first.

"So ya like me as a girl?"

"Yes."

"What about when I was a boy? Did ya like me then?"

"Yes," he replied, not sure where she was taking this.

"How much?"

"How much what?"

"When I was a boy, did ya just like me or like me like me?"

_So that's what Joey's getting at. _"I like you like you."

"Oh," she said quietly, looking saddened again.

"No, Puppy. You misunderstand me. When you were a guy, I liked you. As a girl, I like you. I said that I like you like you. Whatever your gender is doesn't matter to me because who you are as an individual is what drew me to you," Kaiba said, finally understanding what he was feeling. Although, it took quite a rambling to come to that conclusion.

Joey's head snapped up. "Ya mean that?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes. I mean that, Puppy."

"I'm glad. Can ya do me a favor then?" she asked seductively, inching closer to Kaiba.

"What's that?" he replied, eyeing her guardedly.

She leaned forward, her breath tickling his ear. Kaiba fought back a moan. "Stop treatin' me like I'm made of glass." Well, _that_ wasn't very romantic.

"Huh?" came Kaiba's eloquent response.

Joey sighed. "You've been treatin' me like I'm some porcelain doll and it's really annoyin'. Just treat me like ya normally would if I were a guy."

"I'll…try." Just how was he going to do that?

"Good. Now, can ya help me put all this stuff away?"

"Um, okay." He looked around the room and that's when he realized something. Since Joey's bedroom was right next to his, they shared the same bathroom. "Uh, Puppy?"

"Yes?" she asked while sifting through her packages.

"Um…well…this morning when I had you assigned to this room, you were a guy. I thought that it would be okay for us to share the bathroom since we were both guys. But now that you're a girl, you'll probably want your own bathroom. We can set you up with another room." Why couldn't he stop rambling?

"No thanks," she said firmly.

"B-But-"

"I told ya to treat me as ya would if I were still a guy. If we were gonna share a bathroom, then we are gonna share a bathroom. Just don't forget to knock," she said with a wink. Kaiba blushed.

Trying to distract himself, he grabbed a package off the floor. "U-Uh…where do you want this?" he asked quickly.

"What's in it?"

"Um…shampoo and stuff. What is this? Perfume?"

Joey came over and looked into the package he was holding. She didn't even know what half the stuff was. Damn Ella. "Just…put it in the bathroom. Anythin' that's in bottle, tube, whatever, just put it in the bathroom."

"All right." Kaiba went into the bathroom and started putting stuff away. What the hell was all this? And why did she need so much of it? Coming back into the room, he peeked inside another package, grinning mischievously when he saw what was in it. Pulling it out, he called to Joey.

"What's this for?" he smirked, holding a really skimpy nightgown…if you could call it that. Joey stopped what she was doing to face him and turned crimson when she saw Kaiba holding the stupid nightgown Ella had made her buy. Joey snatched it out of his hands.

"Nothin'. Ella made me get that. It's not like I'll ever wear it," she snapped.

"That's a shame. I'm sure we could have found some use for it," Kaiba said seductively.

Joey blushed. "Ya know what? Get out! Out! Get out now! If all you're gonna do is make fun of me, then leave," she exclaimed, pushing him out of her room. She slammed the door in his face.

Kaiba…was stunned. He only meant to tease her a bit. Was Joey always this sensitive? He slowly stepped away from the door, frowning in thought as he headed back down the stairs.

"What did you do now?" inquired Mokuba when he saw his brother looking solemn.

"Why does it have to be _me_ who did something?" he demanded.

"Because it always is. What did you do?"

Kaiba looked away. There was no way in _hell_ he was going to tell his little brother…_that_ little bit of information. "I just teased her a bit and she kicked me out." _Please don't ask me what I teased Joey about._

Mokuba scowled at his brother. "Big brother, why can't you ever be nice to someone?" Suddenly, the young boy jumped as if in shock. "I know! Seto! You should do something nice for Joey. Take her out somewhere and make her feel like…like…I don't know! Just take her out somewhere and have a good time."

Well, there was an idea. But it was a little late to do that now. "Okay, Mokuba. But how about tomorrow? It's getting late," Kaiba replied.

"Sure. So, what're you going to do?" Mokuba urged.

"Um…"

Mokuba sighed. "Do I have to think of everything around here?" he mumbled. "Take her to the movies and dinner. I'm pretty sure even _you_ can't mess that up." Wait. Did he really just say that to his big brother?

Kaiba glared at him. "Why thank you so much for your confidence in my abilities," he replied sarcastically.

"Just treat her nicely. Like a lady."

"Joey doesn't want to be treated like a lady. She said she wants to be treated like a guy."

Mokuba rolled his eyes. "Do you even know what that means, Seto? It's not like you socialize very well. With anyone."

Kaiba scowled at him, but Mokuba did have a point. "I…guess you're right. So…what am I supposed to do exactly?" He felt kind of embarrassed asking his little brother for advice, but who else did he have?

"Okay. So here's what you do…"

* * *

_So never judge a book by its cover  
Or who you gonna love by your lover  
Love put me wise to her love in disguise  
She had the body of Venus  
Lord imagine my surprise_

_

* * *

_

Kaiba went into his room and closed the door behind him. That was the most uncomfortable conversation he'd ever had with his brother. How the hell did that kid know so much? He should really watch television more often.

Well, all he had to do now was ask Joey to go out with him tomorrow and hope she'd say yes. Wait. Go out with him? Was it really a date? Or just an outing between friends? Because they _did_ like each other, but Joey hadn't actually said that she liked him like that. Or did she? She had asked a lot of questions about how much he liked her when she was a he and a her. Oh! It was just too confusing. He had a headache now.

Maybe he should just go to bed. What time was it anyway? Midnight! Had he really been speaking with Mokuba for that long?

Shrugging it off, Kaiba changed out of his clothes, leaving only his boxers on and crawled into bed. Soon, he was fast asleep.

* * *

_Dude looks like a lady_

_Dude looks like a lady_

_

* * *

_

Joey tossed and turned violently in her bed. She was dreaming, or rather, having a nightmare. About her father. He was beating her and calling her names. Her father was just about to kick her in the stomach when she bolted awake in her bed.

Running a shaking hand through her hair, Joey shivered as she looked around the room. The numbers on the clock flashed 2:00 AM. It was really early.

With the nightmare still fresh in her mind, Joey knew she wouldn't fall back asleep…unless she had company.

The blonde got out of her bed and entered the bathroom. She slowly opened the door that led to Kaiba's room. Peeking inside, she saw that Kaiba was curled up under the covers, sound asleep. Gently closing the bathroom door behind her, she tiptoed over to him.

"Kaiba?" she whispered. No response. "Kaiba?" This time she poked him in the arm. Still no response. Damn, he was a heavy sleeper. "Kaiba?" she said a little louder, gently shaking him awake, her hand on his shoulder.

Bad idea.

Kaiba jerked awake, grabbing her wrist, practically yanking her arm out of her socket in the process.

Joey yelped and cringed, expecting to be hit.

"Puppy?" Kaiba released her wrist and leaned over to turn on the light on his bedside table. "What are you doing in here?" he asked, turning to face her. His jaw dropped when he saw her appearance.

Joey was wearing a thin, sleeveless black nightgown that barely reached her knees. He stopped staring when he noticed she looked pale and was shaking slightly. Her wide, frightened eyes watched him guardedly.

"I'm sorry for doing that, Puppy. You just startled me." He waited for Joey to respond. When he noticed her relaxing, he continued. "What are you doing in here? Do you need something?"

Joey looked down and started playing with invisible strings on the bedspread. "Can…I sleep in here with ya tonight? I…I had a nightmare…and I…I don't wanna be alone." She glanced at him hesitantly. She felt foolish asking to stay with him because of some stupid nightmare. It wasn't even real. But if felt real.

She wrenched out of her thoughts when she felt Kaiba pull back the covers. That was when she noticed his naked torso…and blushed.

"Get in," Kaiba said. Joey didn't move. She was too busy staring at his chest. Kaiba looked down at himself and blushed as well. "Um…get in," he repeated, this time getting out of the bed. He walked over to his dresser, found a shirt, and put it on. When he came back, Joey was nestled under the covers. Crawling underneath the blankets as well, he soon found the blonde latched onto him, shaking like a leaf and whimpering.

"Shh. It's okay, Joey. It was just a dream. It wasn't real."

"B-But it w-was real," she cried. "M-My dad was hittin' me. I can ne-never get away from him. He's always there. It's like I feel the pain every single time I dream about it." Joey sobbed softly, burying her head in the crook of Kaiba's neck.

The brunet's heart broke at how vulnerable Joey was at that moment. "Puppy? He can't get you now. I'm here. He'll never get you. I'll protect you, okay?"

Joey sniffed and looked up at him. "Ya mean that?"

"Of course," he said with a smile. "Now get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow?"

At this Joey appeared baffled. "What do ya mean we have a big day tomorrow?"

Oops! "Um…well…I was, uh…thinking we could g-go to the movies to-tomorrow…and maybe have dinner…or something. If you don't want to, I'll understand completely."

"Are…ya askin' me out on a date?" Joey exclaimed, her eyes widening in surprise.

Kaiba fidgeted a bit before he answered. "I-I g-guess." Damn! Why did he have to stutter?

Joey latched herself onto him again. "Of course I'll go! Can we go see _Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen_? I've been waitin' forever to see it!"

"O…kay," he said, a little stunned. That was easy. Maybe a bit _too_ easy. "Let's go to sleep now."

"Okay." They settled under the blankets once more. "Goodnight, Kaiba," she said with a yawn, drifting off to sleep.

"Goodnight, Puppy," he answered softly, his back facing hers as he closed his eyes.

But soon, both their eyes shot open as they each thought simultaneously, _What am I going to wear?_

_

* * *

_

_Dude looks like a lady_

_Dude looks like a lady_

_

* * *

_

Kaiba turned over in his sleep, suddenly waking up when he felt the warm, empty space in his bed. He opened his eyes, noticing that Joey wasn't there. Maybe she'd gone back to her room. Kaiba looked at his clock. 10:00 AM? He never slept in this late.

Grumbling to himself, the brunet got up from the bed and headed for the bathroom. He groggily removed his clothes and opened the shower door.

"AAHHH!" Kaiba's eyes widened when he realized he'd just stepped into the shower with a very naked Joey.

He was awake now.

Joey desperately tried to cover herself as she shoved Kaiba out of the shower. "Get out, ya perverted freak! Out!" she screamed, throwing a shampoo bottle at his head. Kaiba scrambled out of the bathroom and into his own room, only to see both Mokuba and Ella burst through the door.

"Seto! We heard a scream! Is everything-AH! My eyes!" Mokuba bolted back out of the room, trying to erase the image of his naked brother from his mind.

Kaiba pulled the bedspread from the bed and quickly covered himself. "Ella! Get out!" he cried, embarrassed to be in this position.

Ella glared at him full blast. "What did you do? Where is she?"

"T-The sh-shower," Kaiba answered sheepishly.

Ella reared and grabbed the nearest weapon she could find. Which just so happened to be a lamp. "You horrible man! Are you that desperate that you have to crawl into a shower with an unsuspecting young woman? Have you no shame?" She bonked him over the head with the lamp and kept smacking him until Joey burst into the room wearing a large bathrobe.

"Ella, stop," she begged, trying to remove the lamp from the old maid's grasp. "It was an accident. Really. I just forgot to lock the door. It's not his fault."

Ella seemed appeased by this. Just slightly. "Are you sure that's what happened? Mr. Kaiba?"

"Yes! What she said!" he exclaimed hurriedly.

"All right. But I better not hear you trying to force yourself on this nice young woman again or I'll castrate you with a meat cleaver," she warned. Leaving the room, Kaiba and Joey glanced at each other.

"I'm really sorry, Joey. I was still half asleep and I didn't notice you were already using the shower!"

"It's okay, Kaiba. I know it was an accident. Ya just scared the crap outta me. How would ya feel if this large, naked man came into the shower with ya from behind? Maybe…I shouldn't have put it like that," she said when she noticed the horrified look on Kaiba's face. Well, at least he knew how she felt now.

"So, are we still goin' out today?" Joey asked hopefully.

"You…still want to go?"

"Of course! The shower's free, so ya can use it now. I need to go find Ella. Bye!" Joey left the room quickly in search of the old maid. She ran down the stairs and called out for her.

"Ella?"

"Yes, dear?" Ella popped her head out of the kitchen.

"I…I need your help," Joey said, looking down at her feet.

"Oh?"

"Kaiba kind of…asked me out on a date. He's takin' me to the movies and dinner. Can ya…help me get ready? I don't know what to wear or how to look…decent…for a date."

Ella smiled brightly. "Of course I'll help you. Let's get you ready for your big date!" Excited, she dragged Joey up the stairs and tossed her into her room, shutting the door behind them.

* * *

_Baby let me follow you down  
Let me take peek dear  
Baby let me follow you down  
Do me, do me, do me all night_

_

* * *

_

Kaiba stood in his closet, wearing a pair of blue boxers, and stared at his countless clothes. He was hoping that if he stared at them long enough, something would jump out at him and scream _'Wear me!'_

But it wasn't happening.

Soon, a knock sounded on the door. "Are you decent?" his brother's voice called out.

"To an extent," he replied.

He heard Mokuba open the door and watched him sigh in relief when he noticed his big brother at least had his lower half covered. "You don't know what to wear, do you?" he asked with a smirk.

"No," he grumbled in response. "Any ideas?"

"Let me see." Mokuba pushed him out of the way and searched through his brother's clothes. He pulled out a pair of black dress slacks, black dress shoes, and a dark blue button-up silk shirt. "Put these on," the young boy ordered.

Taking the pants, Kaiba started getting dressed. He frowned, though, when he caught Mokuba searching through his dresser. "Mokuba? What are you looking for?"

"You'll see."

"Mokuba, I don't think this outfit is going to work," he said, scowling at how snug the shirt was on his body.

"It's fine, Seto," he replied, turning around. "Why do you have the shirt tucked in like that? You're impossible," Mokuba growled.

The young boy stood on the bed so he could reach his brother's top. Pulling the shirt out from his brother's pants, he said, "This shirt shouldn't be tucked in. It's snug, so it fits nicely to the body." Mokuba quickly unbuttoned the top two buttons of Kaiba's shirt. "And we'll leave these two unbuttoned so we can see…this." Mokuba put a silver chain with a Blue-Eyes White Dragon pendant around his neck. "Put on your shoes and then we'll work on your hair."

"You are not coming anywhere _near_ my hair," Kaiba warned.

"Do you want me to help you or not?" Mokuba snapped, glaring at his brother. "I happen to like Joey very much and if you screw this up, I will never forgive you. Now sit down on this damn chair and shut up before I duct tape you to it!"

Kaiba actually flinched. He didn't know his sweet little brother could be so…authoritative. He sat down in the chair. Mokuba grinned.

"What happened to my nice little brother?"

"He decided he got tired of having you be all alone," Mokuba answered quietly. "I just want you to be happy, big brother. I think Joey can give you that happiness. And don't say you have me. I won't always be here. One day, when I'm a lot older, I'll want to go out and start my own life. I want someone to be here for you when I can't be."

Kaiba felt tears forming in his eyes. He hadn't thought of that. In some ways, he assumed Mokuba would always stay little and never grow up. He smiled slightly. "When did you get so smart?"

"I've always been smart," Mokuba smiled. "I just don't always find the right time to execute it."

They both laughed as Mokuba finished up his hair. He had put some mousse in it, giving it some volume. The young boy attempted to give his brother's hair a look that said he'd been out in the wind. He'd tossed it around some, giving the CEO some boyish features. Next, Mokuba pulled out a small bottle and started dabbing a pleasant smelling cologne on his brother's wrists and neck.

"Rub it in," Mokuba said, putting the bottle back down. Kaiba did so. "You're done! Are you ready for your date?"

"I certainly hope so," he mumbled.

* * *

_Baby let me follow you down  
Turn the other cheek dear  
Baby let me follow you down  
Do me, do me, do me, do me_

_

* * *

_

Mokuba and Kaiba were downstairs, pacing relentlessly. What was taking Joey so long? They'd been pacing…er, waiting…for about an hour.

"I'm going to go check on Joey," Kaiba said, heading for the stairs, only to bump into Ella.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Where's Joey?" he replied.

"Joey? Your date's growing impatient. You can come down now." Ella moved off to the side as Mokuba approached the stairs to see Joey as well. The Kaiba brothers practically toppled over in shock.

The blonde slowly walked down the stairs. Her blonde hair was slightly wavy and glossy. She had on black eyeliner and mascara, making her amber eyes stand out. She wore a sleeveless emerald green dress that reached midway down her thighs with a golden beaded center that accentuated her breasts. Joey also wore gold, open-toed heels and carried a small golden-colored purse. She literally seemed to glow.

As Joey reached the last step, she tripped, falling into Kaiba's arms. Blushing furiously, the brunet set her on her feet and stepped back. "You look beautiful, Joey."

She bowed her head as she blushed. "Thank ya," she replied softly.

"Shall we go?" he asked, offering her his arm.

Joey eyed him strangely, but took the offered arm.

"Have fun, you two. And remember what I told you, Joey," Ella said, wandering to some unknown region of the mansion.

"Yeah! Have fun! And be nice!" Mokuba called out, running off to his room to play video games.

* * *

_What a funky lady_

_

* * *

_

"Thank ya for taking me to the movies. I had a lot of fun!" Joey said to Kaiba, nudging him slightly as they left the theatre. "So, where are we goin' now?"

Kaiba smirked. _So far so good_. "You'll see." He led her to his car, opening the door to the passenger side to let her in.

Joey reluctantly gave in to his modern day chivalry and slipped into the car. Kaiba followed suit, going into the driver's seat. He started up the car and started driving.

"Where are we goin'?" she repeated.

Kaiba laughed at her excitement. "You'll see. We'll be there in a few minutes anyway."

Joey pouted in her seat, but was soon distracted by the passing scenery. It appeared they'd left the main city and were now driving through a densely wooded area. Soon, they hit a clearing and what she saw took her breath away.

Just beyond the horizon was a beautiful lake. The setting sun sparkled on the water, making it shine like diamonds.

Kaiba pulled over and shut off the car, popping open the trunk. "Come on."

They got out of the car and went to the trunk. Joey looked inside.

"Are…we havin' a picnic?" she giggled.

Kaiba paused embarrassedly. "Y-You don't want to? I-I thought that it would be pleasant, s-since it's so nice out t-today. B-But I understand if you-"

"Kaiba, shut up," Joey said softly. She smiled at him. "I would love to go on a picnic with ya. It's sweet. I never took ya for the…um…romantic type." She giggled again.

The brunet was really starting to like Joey's giggle. He smiled, too. "Then let's go." He pulled out a basket from the trunk and a couple blankets, and closed the trunk.

They walked toward the lake, Kaiba leading them toward a secluded spot underneath some trees. He put down the basket and one of the blankets, spreading the second one on the ground. Placing the basket on the spread blanket, he sat down, Joey sitting next to him. Opening the basket, Kaiba pulled out an assortment of food and spread it out on the blanket.

"This is really nice," said Joey. "What made ya think of this?"

Kaiba blushed slightly. "I…wanted to spend time with you without being…gawked at by people in a restaurant or anything. I don't like unwanted attention. And I didn't think you'd feel comfortable with people staring at the two of us. Do you understand what I mean?"

Joey thought he looked quite worried and…vulnerable. "I understand, Kaiba. That was really thoughtful of ya. And it means that if I use my pepper spray, ya won't be embarrassed in public," she said honestly.

"Pepper spray? What are you doing with pepper spray?"

"Uh, Ella gave it to me for protection. Just in case. Now let's eat!"

They laughed as they dug into the food. When they finished, Kaiba and Joey settled back against the tree behind them and watched the sunset.

"Are you really enjoying yourself, Puppy?" Kaiba asked softly.

Joey turned to look at him, a smile on her face. "Of course I am. Are ya?"

Kaiba smirked. "With you? Always." He pulled Joey against him and she leaned her head on his shoulder. That's when he felt her shiver. "Are you cold?"

"Just a little," she replied. Kaiba leaned over her and grabbed the second blanket and placed it around their shoulders. He felt Joey snuggle up against him and sighed. He wished they could stay like this forever.

They sat together in silence for a while before Joey yawned. "Getting sleepy, Puppy?" Kaiba laughed.

"Shut up. We have school tomorrow, don't we?" she said sleepily.

Damn. He'd forgotten they had to go to school tomorrow. "Hn…I think we better go home now. We've had a long day, you can barely keep your eyes open, and we have to be at school earlier than normal."

"What? Why?" She was awake now.

"You need to speak with the principal to get your schedule. I've worked everything out, so you should be fine."

"Oh. Okay. But what about my school uniform?"

"You have a few sets in your room already. Now come on." He helped Joey up and gathered their things. When they reached the car, he put everything but one blanket in the trunk. He placed the remaining blanket over Joey's shoulders and guided her into the car. Getting into the driver's seat, they began their trip home.

* * *

_She like it like it like it like that_

_

* * *

_

It was about 10:00 PM when they finally reached home. Ella said that Mokuba was already in bed.

Heading up the stairs, Kaiba walked Joey to her room. "I had a wonderful time today, Puppy. Goodnight."

Joey looked up at Kaiba sleepily. "Goodnight," she replied. She went on her tiptoes and planted a small kiss on his cheek. She then spun around and scrambled into her room, leaving a very flustered Kaiba standing in the hallway cupping his cheek.

* * *

_He was a lady_

_

* * *

_

The next morning, they arrived at school. Very early. Well, very early in Joey's eyes. It was only half an hour before the first bell would ring.

"Okay, Puppy. I'll see you in class," Kaiba said in a rush as he quickly left the blonde standing in front of the principal's office. What was that all about?

Knocking on the door, Joey was let in. "Good morning," exclaimed the principal, a bright smile on her face.

"Um…good morning," she replied. Why was this woman so happy this early in the morning?

"Please have a seat. Your boyfriend already explained the situation. He requested that the two of you have the same schedule. I thought it was very sweet how he wanted to look after you like that. So here it is," the principal said, handing over Joey's schedule. The blonde accepted it subconsciously. The only thing she'd actually heard was 'boyfriend.'

"My boyfriend?" she questioned blankly.

The principal's happy-go-lucky face faltered a bit, unsure as to why the girl in front of her looked so confused. "Y-Yes. Mr. Kaiba went through all the details with me yesterday over the phone. There must be something quite special about you for him to ask you to be his girlfriend."

It finally sank in.

"Girlfriend?" Joey exclaimed. Since when was she Kaiba's girlfriend? They'd only had one date! And she didn't even call him by his first name! They didn't even agree-let alone discuss-that she would be going around as his girlfriend! Was that why he left so quickly? "Girlfriend? I'll show that jerk a thing or two!" she shouted, roughly getting out of her seat and storming out of the principal's office.

The principal jumped when her door was slammed shut. She looked over at her secretary. "He sure did pick a feisty one, didn't he?"

The secretary nodded.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Walk This Way by Aerosmith

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 3 – Walk This Way**

_**Domino High School **_

Kaiba was the first to arrive to class. It was rather early, after all. He sat in his seat near the front of the room and began fidgeting anxiously.

_Why did I have to tell the principal that Joey was my girlfriend? She is going to be so pissed when she finds out. Maybe I should hide. No! I can't do that. Then Joey will really get mad. But, maybe she'll understand. It was only my intention to keep Joey safe while she's in that female body. Maybe she won't understand! Oh, shit! She's going to kill me for this, isn't she? She's going to-_

"AAHH!" Kaiba screamed, jumping out of his seat. He was startled from his thoughts when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"U-Umm…s-sorry, Kaiba," began Yugi hesitantly. Neither he, nor anyone else in the geek squad, expected to hear him scream, let alone jump out of his seat in fear. In their eyes, Kaiba looked…skittish.

The CEO sighed in relief. It was only Yugi. He hardened his gaze and glared at the small teen and his friends. "What do you want?"

"Um, well, we just wanted to let you know that Joey won't be here for a while. He had to go see his sister," said Yugi.

_Time to put on the act._ "And why would I want to know about the Mutt's whereabouts?" he growled.

"Because…he's…well…you seem to pay a lot of attention to him…so I thought you might want to know," Yugi stammered.

"Hn. Well, if you thought-" Kaiba stopped abruptly, his eyes widening when he glanced at the door. By this time, the class was practically full of students, but standing in the doorway was none other than Joey, pissed off beyond belief. Kaiba felt himself pale as he subconsciously took a step back.

Yugi, intrigued by the fact that Kaiba actually looked scared, turned to see what he was staring at. When he did, his jaw dropped. Everyone else in the class seemed to catch on, too, especially the guys.

* * *

_Backseat lover always hidin' 'neath the covers  
Till I talked to your daddy, he say  
He said "you ain't seen nothin' till you're down on a muffin  
Then you're sure to be a-changin' your ways"_

_

* * *

_

Joey took a menacing step forward, rage clearly evident on her features. Before she could reach Kaiba, however, she was intercepted by Tristan.

"Hey!" said Tristan, swelling his chest in hopes of impressing her. "Are you lost?"

_Oh, no!_ Joey thought. "No, I'm not. I've actually transferred to this school. Now if you'll excuse me-"

Joey gasped when Tristan took her hand. "Then let me introduce myself. I'm Tristan! How would you like it if I gave you the grand tour?"

Snatching her hand back, she was about to respond when someone else spoke for her. "I don't think so. I should give her the grand tour," Duke said, flicking his hair. He took Joey's hand in his. "I'm Duke Devlin. You've probably heard of me, though. I created Dungeon Dice Monsters."

Joey rolled her eyes as she snatched her hand back from him, too. "I know who ya are," she said in an irritated tone.

"But I don't know who _you_ are," Duke said seductively, leaning in toward her.

"I'm Katsuya Jounouchi," Joey responded, pushing him away from her. "Now, will the both of ya back off before I clobber ya over the head with a textbook?"

Tristan cocked his head to the side. He'd never encountered such an…aggressive girl before. It was cute. And so was her accent. It kind of reminded him of someone.

Duke seemed to like her just as much. "Hey, you're kinda feisty. I like that in a girl," he said, stepping in front of her and taking her hands in his. He pulled her toward him. "How about we hang out for a bit?"

"Get your filthy hands off of her before I do something you _will_ regret," growled a voice from behind Duke.

"Huh?" Duke released Joey and turned around, only to come face to face with an angry Seto Kaiba. The green-eyed CEO narrowed his eyes. "I can do whatever the hell I want, Kaiba. This isn't any of your business."

Everyone watched the two face off against one another as whispers circulated around the room.

Kaiba's glare hardened even more. "It _is_ my business."

Duke laughed. "Oh? And why is that?"

Joey decided it was her turn to step in. "Because Seto Kaiba is my boyfriend." _I can't believe I just said that!_

_

* * *

_

_I met a cheerleader, was a real young bleeder  
Oh, the times I could reminisce  
'Cause the best things of lovin' with her sister and her cousin  
Only started with a little kiss  
Like this!_

_

* * *

_

The entire class went deathly quiet as they looked from Kaiba to Duke to Joey.

"Boyfriend?" Duke asked meekly.

"Yes. Boyfriend. Now, if you'll excuse us," Joey said, grabbing Kaiba firmly by the arm and literally dragging him over to the far side of the classroom. She practically threw him into his seat. "What the fuck were ya thinkin'?" she hissed. Joey tried to drown out the crying fangirls as she waited for Kaiba's response.

"It was the only way I could make sure you were okay. By telling the principal you were my girlfriend, it guaranteed that we got the same classes together…I wanted…to protect you if anything should happen," he replied truthfully. "Are you mad?"

Joey put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "Yes," she began, but faltered. "Or I was. Why didn't ya just discuss it with me? It's kinda awkward walkin' into school and findin' out ya have a boyfriend through someone else." Kaiba gently took hold of her hand. A loud wail sounded from the group of fangirls. "Will ya shut the fuck up? He's mine! Get over it! Duke's still available!" she shrieked. That shut them up. Soon, the fangirls turned their eyes toward Duke.

He gulped. _Help me!_

"I'm sorry…Katsuya. I should have told you first. But you have to admit, it did work out quite well," Kaiba smirked.

That did it. She grabbed his ear and yanked on it. "I don't need ya to come rescue me every two seconds. I can take care of myself, ya know."

"Owowowowow! Let go! Let go!" Kaiba shouted, flailing his arms in the air, desperately trying to get Joey to let go of his ear. She only yanked on it harder.

Yugi and the gang looked on quite amused. They were starting to like this Katsuya girl. How on earth had Kaiba found someone like her?

* * *

_Seesaw swingin' with the boys in the school  
And your feet flyin' up in the air  
Singin' "hey diddle diddle"  
With your kitty in the middle of the swing  
Like you didn't care_

_

* * *

_

_**Period 1 – English – Mrs. Kelly's Class**_

After being formally introduced to the class as Katsuya Jounouchi, Joey was placed in the seat next to Kaiba near the front of the room. She didn't pay him any mind, though; she was still angry.

"Now then," their teacher, Mrs. Kelly began. "Today we will be starting a new novel titled _Orlando_ by Virginia Woolf. This is a fictional biography whose subject in the beginning is that of a sixteen-year-old young man during the Elizabethan era. In the end, around three hundred years later, we find that our subject has transformed into a thirty-six-year-old woman. This novel is not about transsexuaity. Instead, it reflects sexual identity and gender roles in English society."

Joey started to grow uncomfortably warm in her seat. It was hitting a little too close to home.

"Orlando's gender alteration," their teacher continued, "is physically the middle of his preternaturally long life. Orlando only ages twenty years over the course of three centuries."

_Maybe…I should read this book. It might help me understand what it's like to transform from a boy to a girl_, Joey thought.

"The novel also examines the effect gender alteration has on Orlando's passionate and professional capacities. As a young nobleman in the Elizabethan court, whose main interests are poetry and swordsmanship, young Orlando is engaged to a noble Irish girl, has an affair with a Russian princess, and meets a silly woman, who is really a man, and calls herself the Archduchess Harriet."

Joey was becoming quite intrigued by this novel.

"After he serves as an ambassador in Turkey, Orlando becomes a woman. She then joins a band of gypsies and returns to England where Orlando must handle the legalities regarding her status as a duke because of her new gender."

_Hm…maybe that's why I feel like I've suddenly been treated differently by Kaiba. As a guy, he treated me one way, but as a girl, he treats me as if I were really a girl. Which…I guess I am, but that doesn't change who I am, does it? How does Orlando do it?_

"As a woman, Orlando manages to gain romantic attentions from famous writers such as Pope, Dryden, and Swift before eventually marrying and having a son."

_Romantic attentions? Is…that why just about every guy has been hittin' on me? They…are attracted to me? But wait…Orlando marries? And has a son? Does that mean…I…could do the same? _Joey grew increasingly troubled by her thoughts as she continued to listen.

"This novel may have set a standard for cross-gender role-playing since it was first published in 1928, but still remains a popular novel today. _Orlando _is a particularly great novel, and I hope all of you will enjoy it as much as I have. Oh! And when we finish reading and discussing the novel, we'll watch the movie. It's quite well done in comparison to the novel," Mrs. Kelly concluded as she started passing out a novel to each student.

Joey took her copy hesitantly. She stared at the cover for a long time, thinking. _Do I want to change back into a guy? Or remain…a woman?_

Kaiba noticed her troubled expression. "Puppy," he whispered. "What's wrong?"

Joey just shook her head, opened the book, and started reading.

* * *

_So I took a big chance at the high school dance  
With a missy who was ready to play  
Wasn't me she was foolin'  
'Cause she knew what she was doin'  
And I knowed love was here to stay  
When she told me to_

_

* * *

_

_**Period 2 – Music – Independent Study**_

"Kaiba? Where is everyone?" Joey asked when they entered the music room. It was just her and Kaiba.

"I take music on Independent Study, so I get this room all to myself during this period," he replied. He strode toward the piano in the middle of the room and sat down.

"Do…ya play?" she questioned curiously.

Kaiba nodded as he stared at the keys. "Puppy? I'm sorry for how I treated you earlier. I really shouldn't have done that. Is that why you…looked so upset during class?" he asked hesitantly.

Joey sighed and sat down next to him on his right side. She fiddled with the piano keys before speaking. "Yes, I was mad at ya earlier. Ya should have told me we'd be posin' as boyfriend and girlfriend. And then when ya smirked at me, I _did_ realize ya were only teasin' me."

"What…if I don't want us to pose as a couple? What if I really…want to be with you?" Kaiba asked quickly, a blush staining his face.

They both stared at the piano.

"Would anythin' change between us…if I change back into a guy?"

"Nothing would change between us," he answered earnestly, but then he grew confused when he thought about what she'd just said. "What do you mean 'if' you change back into a guy?"

Joey turned away from him. "I don't know," she said quietly. "I really don't know." There was too much she was trying to understand about herself. Ever since she'd switched genders, Joey had been questioning her identity; who she was.

"Puppy, it's your decision. No matter what you decide, I'll still care for you as I always have," he said, turning her toward him again. "It's _you_ I like. Whether you want to stay a woman or change back, it doesn't matter to me. All I want is for you to be happy."

Joey smiled and hugged him. "Thank ya, Kaiba."

"Does this mean you'll be my girlfriend?" he chuckled.

She laughed. Pulling away from his embrace, she said, "I guess it does." They looked in each other's eyes for a moment before Kaiba leaned forward, his lips mere inches from hers. She could feel his breath dancing on her lips. Should she?

Closing the gap between them, Joey's soft lips made contact with Kaiba's. Their kiss was clumsy but delightful, and felt so right.

Kaiba pushed her back some to gain greater access to her delicate mouth, but Joey's elbow hit the piano keys, making them both jump at the sound. They quickly pulled apart and stared at each other. Their first kiss seemed pretty intense and they were both blushing profusely.

"U-Um…sh-should we play somethin'?" Joey offered, trying to find some grounds for normalcy.

Kaiba, a bit glad and disappointed from the change in atmosphere, raised an eyebrow. "You play?"

"Of course I can play…but I haven't for some time. Dad pawned my piano a while back. He used the money for gamblin'," she said bitterly.

Kaiba put his arm around her waist and held her comfortingly, resting his head atop hers. "There's a piano at the mansion. I can show you after school, if you want. You're more than welcome to play it any time you like."

"Thank ya, Kaiba. I'd like that," she replied with a smile.

"And you should start calling me Seto from now on. I am your boyfriend, after all."

"All right. Thank ya, Seto," she whispered. He loved the way she said his name; it made him feel…like he belonged to her. And in some ways, he felt he did. "Do ya know Johann Sebastian Bach's Concerto for Two in D Minor?" she asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Yes," he replied, nodding slightly. "Do you?" Could Joey really play the piano that well?

"Of course I do, ya bastard," she said gruffly. He thought she looked cute when she was frustrated. "I'll be on top, so you're the bottom."

"W-What?" Seto exclaimed.

"Not like that, ya perverted freak! Is your mind always in the gutter? I'll play the higher register and you'll play the lower one!" she screeched.

"Oh. Okay," he said quietly, feeling embarrassed that he thought she'd meant…well, you know.

They both turned to face the piano once again. Resting their hands on the keys lightly, Joey asked, "Are ya ready?"

"Yes."

"We'll make the tempo 96 beats per minute. Okay?"

Seto nodded.

And then they began to play.

Seto was amazed by Joey's ability on the piano. She played flawlessly and just well as he did, maybe even better.

When they finished the piece, they started laughing. "I think that's the most fun I've had in a long time…I think it was even better than our date," said Joey.

"You know? I think I might have to agree with you on that. I didn't know you were this talented." _What other surprises do you have in store for me? _he thought.

"Thank ya for the compliment…Seto." She just loved saying his name.

They played together for the rest of the class period.

* * *

_Walk this way, talk this way  
Walk this way, talk this way  
Walk this way, talk this way  
Walk this way, talk this way_

_

* * *

_

_**Period 3 – Science – Mr. Hare's Class**_

"Okay, class. Today we'll be starting our lesson on Genetics. We'll be having a short quiz called 'What Makes You _You_?' Basically, Nature + Nurture = You," began their science teacher, Mr. Hare. He seemed really excited about this subject.

The class groaned.

"Nature means that some of your special features come from your genes. If both of your parents have curly hair, chances are you'll have curly hair, too. That's because hair type is determined by genes you inherit from your parents."

_That's…actually kind of interesting, _Joey thought.

"Nurture, on the other hand, revolves around everything you do, see, and learn. These three things affect who you are as an individual. Imagine you lived in a different country. You would have the same genes, but perhaps you would eat different food, wear different clothes, and speak a different language," he continued.

The class's groan was replaced by fascination. It was quite…interesting to consider, to say the least.

"Scientists agree that we are products of both nature (genes) and nurture (all things that happen to us throughout our lives). But there's no magic formula, people. In fact, it's a very complicated equation. Which of your traits are due to nature? Which are due to both nature and nurture? I'll pass out the quiz now." Mr. Hare started passing out their quiz.

Joey took hers and looked it over. Maybe...she could learn a bit more about herself by taking it. It was now or never.

The directions stated that you had to answer each of the questions and determine which answers were based on nature and which were nurture. That sounded easy enough. So she began.

Question #1: What color is your hair?

_That's easy. Blonde. So that would be nature since I inherited that from my parents._

Question #2: What color would you paint your room?

_Probably green. And that would be nurture because it's something I would do._

Question #3: What color are your eyes?

_Brown, so that's also nature._

Question #4: Can you raise one eyebrow?

_What kind of question is that? Well, I can raise one eyebrow, but is it nature or nurture. Since it's something I can do, then it's probably nurture. I'll just say that then._

Question #5: What would you wear to your birthday party?

_Well, in my current situation, probably a cute dress. And that would be nurture. Wait…Did I just say cute dress? Moving on!_

Question #6: What's your idea of a heavenly dessert?

_That is definitely nurture. And my heavenly dessert is a chocolate fudge sundae._

Question #7: Do you have long or short eyelashes?

_I…don't know._

Joey looked around the room and saw that people were asking each other questions about their appearance, so she nudged Seto to get his attention.

"Yes, Puppy?" he asked, looking up from his quiz.

"Um...can ya help me with question seven? I…don't know if my eyelashes are long or short," she said sheepishly.

Seto smirked and stared at her face. "Long. You have long eyelashes."

"Okay. Thanks." She returned to her quiz.

_I have long eyelashes, so that would be nature._

Question #8: What movie would you like to see a second time?

_Probably Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and that would totally be nurture._

Question #9: Do you have dimples when you smile?

_This is gettin' embarrassin'._

"Seto?"

"If you smile for me, I'll smile for you," he said grumpily. This quiz was irritating him.

"Okay," she said, smiling.

"No dimples," he said softly. And then he smiled at her. Joey felt her insides turn to mush. "Well?"

"I-I'm sorry. Could ya smile again, please?" He glared at her, but smiled again anyway. "Ya have sexy dimples," she said breathlessly. Wait…did she just say that out loud? Joey blushed furiously.

"Thank you, Puppy," Seto laughed, and they returned to their quizzes again.

_I don't have dimples. But that's still nature._

Question #10: What object or person would you like to paint?

_Seto…so that's nurture again._

Question #11: Is your hair curly, straight, or wavy?

_What? No messy? Well, I guess it's naturally straight, so that's nature._

Question #12: Are you shy, outgoing, or in-between?

_I'm…not sure anymore. When I was a guy, I was completely outgoin'. I know I've been a bit shy as a girl, but I'm still…I'll just put in-between. I guess that really is nurture then._

Question #13: What song would you request on a radio show?

_Uh…Going Under by Evanescence. Nurture again._

Question #14: Are your earlobes attached or unattached?

_What the hell does that even mean? I am so not askin' for help on that one. I'll just say unattached and pick nature._

Question #15: What's your favorite sport?

_Track and Field, hands down, so that's nurture._

Question #16: What's your favorite place in the world to go?

_My favorite place in the world to go? That…would have to be…in Seto's arms. I am so sappy. Nurture._

Question #17: Do you have a widow's peak?

_What the hell is a widow's peak?_

"Um, Seto? What's a widow's peak?" Joey asked hesitantly.

Seto smirked at her. "Take your hand and push your hair back, away from your forehead," he said. She did so. "If the roots of your hair make a point in the middle of your forehead, that's a widow's peak. And you do have one. Did you know that having a widow's peak is a sign of beauty?"

"Really? Do ya have one?" she asked slowly, pulling her hand away from her face.

He smirked again. "The only way you'll know that is if you push my hair back," he replied, going back to his quiz.

Joey turned back to hers as well, embarrassed.

_Stupid bastard. Well, I guess I have a widow's peak, so that means nature._

Question #18: What's the funniest joke you can think of?

_Thank goodness this is the last question. I don't think I can take anymore of this. The funniest joke I can think of, huh? Okay. I got one. _

_A patient goes to see his doctor and the doctor says, 'I've got bad news and worse news.' The patient replies, 'Oh! Give me the bad news first!' The doctor looked at him and said, 'You have twenty-four hours to live.' The patient looked at his doctor in shock. 'What could be worse than that? What's the worse news?' exclaimed the patient. And the doctor said, 'I forgot to tell you yesterday.'_

_Oh! I crack me up. That is totally nurture._

Joey smiled to herself as she finished her quiz. The last question made her feel a lot better. It just seemed like today was throwing her a lot of curve balls. And there was just one question going through her mind.

_Who am I?_

_

* * *

_

_Just gimme a kiss  
Like this!_

_

* * *

_

_**Period 4 – History – Mrs. Green's Class**_

Joey trudged into her history class with Seto. It was turning out to be a very long day. Sitting in her seat, she plopped her head on her desk.

"Hello, good people," announced their history teacher, Mrs. Green. She seemed very energized for some reason. "Today's a lecture day," she chirped.

You could literally hear students banging their heads on their desks.

"Today we'll be learning about Joan of Arc," Mrs. Green proclaimed.

Joey just stared at her in shock. Was the world purposely trying to torment her? In English, they'd started reading _Orlando_, a novel about an man transforming into a woman; in Music, she'd been thinking about whether she wanted to change back or not; in Science, she was trying to discover who she was; and now this, Joan of Arc, the woman who'd dressed as a man.

She slammed her head on her desk and groaned with the rest of the class.

"As many of you hopefully know, Joan of Arc lived from 1412 to 1431. Joan of Arc, in French, Jeanne d'Arc, also called the Maid of Orleans, a patron saint of France and a national heroine, led the resistance to the English invasion of France in the Hundred Years War. She was born the third of five children to the farmer Jacques d'Arc and his wife Isabelle de Vouthon in the town on Domremy on the border of provinces of Champagne and Lorraine. Her childhood was spent attending her father's herds in the fields and learning religion and housekeeping skills from her mother."

_If Seto thinks I'm gonna learn housekeepin' skills, he's got another thing comin'_, Joey thought grouchily.

"When Joan was about twelve-years-old, she began hearing the voices of Saint Michael, Saint Catherine, and Saint Margaret. She believed they had been sent to her by God. These voices told her that it was her divine mission to free her country from the English and help the dauphin gain the French thrown. They told her to cut her hair, dress in a man's uniform, and to pick up the arms."

_Well, I don't think I'll be doin' that anytime soon_, Joey grumbled to herself.

"By 1429, the English, with the help of their Burgundian allies, occupied Paris and all of France north of the Loire. The resistance was minimal due to lack of leadership and a sense of hopelessness. Henry VI of England was claiming the French throne."

_Oh, joy…_

"Joan convinced the captain of the dauphin's forces, and then the dauphin himself, of her calling. After passing an examination by a board of theologians, she was given troops to command and the rank of captain."

_That's…kinda cool._

"At the battle of Orleans in May of 1429, Joan led the troops to a miraculous victory over the English. She continued fighting the enemy in their locations along the Loire. Fear of troops under her leadership was so formidable that when she approached Lord Talbot's army at Patay, most of the English troops and Commander Sir John Fastolfe fled the battlefield. Fastolfe was later stripped of his Order of the Garter for this act of cowardice. Although Lord Talbot stood his ground, he lost the battle and was captured along with a hundred English noblemen and lost 1800 of his soldiers."

_She…did all that? Joan was really a woman, though…but by disguisin' herself, she was treated as a man…as an equal…_

"Charles VII was crowned king of France on July 17, 1429 in Reims Cathedral. At the coronation, Joan was given a place of honor next to the king. Later, she was ennobled for her services to the country."

_That's…awesome. But they still didn't know she was a woman?_

"In 1430, she was captured by the Burgundians while defending Compiegne near Paris and was sold to the English. The English, in turn, handed her over to the religious court at Rouen, led by Pierre Cauhcon, a pro-English Bishop of Beauvais, to be tried for witchcraft and heresy. Much was made of her insistence on wearing male clothing. She was told that for a woman to wear men's clothing was a crime against God. Her determination to continue wearing it (because her voices hadn't yet told her to change, as well as for protection from sexual abuse by her jailors) was seen as defiance and finally sealed her fate."

_Just because she wore men's clothin'? Or was it because they were embarrassed that the English were bein' defeated by a woman?_

"Joan was convicted after a fourteen-month interrogation. On May 30, 1431 she was burned at the stake in Rouen marketplace. She was nineteen years old. Charles VII made no attempt to come to her rescue."

_But she helped him! How could he not help her? She devoted her life to servin' him and her country!_

"In 1456, long after her death, a second trial was held. Joan was pronounced innocent of the charges against her. She was blessed in 1909 and canonized in 1920 by Pope Benedict XV."

_That's so unfair. Is that how all women have been treated throughout time? Because, it doesn't really seem like women who didn't do these…outrageous things really made it into the history books._

Joey was so deep in thought that she didn't know the bell had rung until Seto tapped her on the shoulder.

"I'm going to the restroom. We'll have lunch together when I come back, okay? Wait for me?" he implored.

"Sure," Joey replied, getting out of her seat. When Seto went into the bathroom, she leaned against a wall and started thinking again. But her thoughts were soon interrupted by a group of Seto Kaiba's obsessive fangirls.

"May I help ya?" Joey asked, eyeing them warily.

"We think it's an act. You're not really his girlfriend, are you?" demanded one of the fangirls.

Joey narrowed her eyes in anger. "Seto _is_ my boyfriend, so back off!"

"Then prove it," snapped one of the other fangirls.

"Yeah. Prove to us he's your boyfriend," replied another.

"He said it. I said it. What more do ya want?" Joey exclaimed.

One of the fangirls, appearing to be the leader, stepped forward and started playing with Joey's hair. "Take him to the Janitor's Closet at the end of the hall, and get…_intimate_…with him. It shouldn't be that hard. Not if you're really his girlfriend, that is. Oh! And make sure to make _lots_ of noise." The other fangirls laughed.

Joey smacked her hand away. "And if I refuse?"

"Don't," the lead fangirl said threateningly. She pulled a switchblade from her uniform and raised the blade to Joey's neck. "You'll be alone sometime, won't you? And then I'll just have to cut up that pretty face of yours. Do we have a deal?"

Joey gulped. Since when did girls carry weapons like this? Girls were scary. "If I do this, you'll be satisfied? You'll leave me and Seto alone?"

The lead fangirl retracted the blade. "Sure, sweet thing. Just remember that we'll be listening," she said in a singsong voice. "And if you back out, I'll be waiting. You do have gym sixth period, don't you? I don't think Kaiba will be able to protect you if you're in the Girl's Locker Room, will he?" she laughed maliciously. "Remember what I said. Oh! And Katsuya? You have to do it during our lunch period, so I suggest you get to it," she said, walking away with the other fangirls toward the end of the hall.

Joey pressed a hand to her throat shakily. _Just what have I gotten myself into?_

_

* * *

_

_Schoolgirl sweetie with a classy kinda sassy  
Little skirt's climbin' way up the knee  
There was three young ladies in the school gym locker  
When I noticed they was lookin' at me_

_

* * *

_

_**Lunch**_

Seto came out of the bathroom, only to be grabbed roughly by Joey. He stumbled as she dragged him down the hallway.

"What are you doing?" he exclaimed, but she didn't seem to hear him.

"Get in," she ordered, opening the door to the Janitor's Closet, shutting and locking it behind them.

"What is your problem?" he demanded. "Why'd you drag me in here?"

Joey just stood there mutely. _What do I tell him? I said that I could take care of myself, so I can't let him know what those girls want me to do. If I don't do this…they'll probably attack me…and it won't be pretty. I have to do this. But what if I do this and Seto gets mad? But then they'll think we're not a couple._

"Puppy?" Seto whispered, cupping her chin and raising her head. Their gazes met. "What's going on? You look scared." And she did. Seto didn't like it.

"Kiss me," she said suddenly.

"What?"

"I said, kiss me," Joey repeated. She leaned up and tried to kiss him, but he pushed her away.

"Something is wrong. Now tell me what it is," he growled.

Joey dropped her gaze and fiddled with her hands. If they were going to have an honest relationship, maybe she should be…honest. She closed her eyes and sighed. "Some of your fangirls confronted me after ya left," she began quietly. "They don't believe we're datin'. They said if I didn't take ya in here to…get intimate with ya…then they'd… they'd…" She cut herself off as tears filled her eyes.

_No one, and I mean no one, threatens my Puppy and gets away with it! _Seto was furious. He tried to push Joey off to the side so that he could open the door and find these so-called fangirls and teach them a thing or two. But Joey stopped him.

"Wait. There's another way. We don't have to do anythin'. Just make some noise and they'll be satisfied," she said quietly. Seto looked at her in shock. He was about to say something when there was a sudden knock on the door.

"I don't hear anything in there!" It was the lead fangirl from before. They were trapped now. Seto glared at the door.

"Work with me," Joey said, leading him away from the door. She started making little moaning sounds…like he was pleasuring her. This only freaked Seto out since he was growing very hard in a certain area with all the little sounds she was making. "Oh! Ah! S-Seto!" Joey moaned. "Make some noise, dammit!" she hissed lowly so only he could hear her.

"I am not doing this!" he replied in the same manner, making his way to the door.

Joey's eyes narrowed in anger. There was no way in hell she was going to allow him to put her life in jeopardy because he wouldn't make a few simple moans. There was only one way to ensure her safety.

"I…said…moan!" she hissed again, grabbing the front of his crotch with her hand and pushing him forcibly against the wall.

"Ah!" Seto groaned, slamming his head against the wall as he felt Joey stroking his clothed member roughly. He wanted to stop her, but it just felt…so…good.

Joey was…shocked that she'd actually had the guts to go through with this wild idea of hers. She was just worried what Seto would do once he regained his senses.

Seto moaned again when Joey continued to stroke him. If she kept this up, he was going to have a little accident. He needed to gain control. Now.

Quickly grabbing her wrists, Seto twirled her around so that her back was against the wall instead of his. He pinned her wrists above her head. Thinking he'd put a stop to her ministrations, he began to relax…until he noticed her smirking at him. _Why is she-_

"Ooh!" he groaned. "D-Damn you, P-Puppy!"

Joey had taken her right knee and rubbed Seto between his legs in a very enticing manner. Her smirk grew when she noticed his grip weakening. Wriggling free, she tried to switch their positions.

But Seto Kaiba would have none of that.

He pushed her back against the wall and assaulted her lips with his. He felt her gasp, giving Seto the chance he needed to slip his tongue into her mouth. She moaned and leaned into him as he tenderly mapped out the inside of her mouth.

Joey gradually put her arms around his neck, drawing him nearer, deepening their kiss. Seto pulled her even closer by her waist and ravaged her mouth frantically. Breaking apart, he attacked her neck, nipping and sucking his way down to her collarbone. She panted and whimpered as she fisted her hands in his hair.

"S-Seto!" Joey moaned, tossing her head from side to side as he continued to pleasure her neck.

That single tone sent him over the edge.

He trailed his hands down her back until they reached her perky ass. Giving it a rough squeeze, he lifted her, and Joey helped him by wrapping her legs tightly around his waist. Seto started moving them away from the wall, their mouths locked in another passionate kiss. Bumping into a small table, Seto got an idea.

Not breaking their intimate connection, Seto violently cleared the table with one swipe of his arm and laid Joey on the table, his body soon covering hers completely. He moved away from her mouth and started planting light kisses on her neck again. His right hand held her head in place on the table by running his fingers through her hair while he plundered her exposed skin, his left hand working its way up her exposed right thigh sensually.

Joey whimpered again. She'd never felt so alive. But she wanted more. Tightening her grip around Seto's waist, she pulled him even closer, grinding his hardened crotch between her legs. "A-Ah…uh…S-Seto!'

"Mn…P-Puppy…I-"

"Mr. Kaiba!"

Joey and Seto froze, hesitantly turning their heads toward the source of the screeching voice.

There, standing in the open doorway, was their principal. She looked like she was in shock. Why wouldn't she be? Seeing two students making out in a closet did that to some people.

Seto scrambled off of Joey and helped her up. He tried to straighten himself out while Joey smoothed out her skirt. They stared at the principal, waiting for her to say something. Anything.

Coming to her senses, she managed to say, "Out! Get out! I don't ever want to catch the two of you doing this ever again!" They didn't have to be told that twice.

Hand in hand, Joey and Seto left the small room and went out into the hallway. When they reached the end, Seto stopped.

"Seto?" Joey asked hesitantly. His hand tightened on hers as he looked at her.

"We're not doing that ever again," he said curtly. Joey felt tears sting her eyes as she dropped her head in shame. "At least not at school." Her head shot up when she heard how his voice had softened. Seto sounded…loving.

He cupped Joey's face in his hands and pulled her into a sweet kiss. "I think I love you," he said after they broke away from the kiss. "Do you feel the same?"

Joey's heart swelled with love for the man. "Yes. I think I love ya, too," she answered breathlessly.

"Are you sure everything is all right?" he asked concernedly.

"Everythin' is fine…especially now."

He smiled at her and took Joey's hand in his again. "Let's go get something to eat before lunch is over. I know how hungry you get."

They laughed as they walked to the cafeteria, but Joey's cheerful mood began to fade when she saw the lead fangirl staring at her, an evil glint in her eyes.

* * *

_I was a high school loser, never made it with a lady  
Till the boys told me somethin' I missed  
Then my next door neighbor with a daughter had a favor  
So I gave her just a little kiss  
Like this!_

_

* * *

_

_**Period 5 – Math – Mr. Kennedy's Class**_

_Ugh! I hate math! What's the point in doin' this? It's not like I'm gonna use this stuff in my future anytime soon, _Joey thought to herself. She didn't want to be here…and she didn't want to go to gym next class either. Who knew what that psychotic fangirl was up to?

"Good afternoon, everyone. We'll be starting our lesson on adding polynomials," said their teacher Mr. Kennedy.

_I am so glad I can ask Seto for help._

"All right. Adding polynomials is just a matter of combining like terms, with some order of operations considerations thrown in. As long as you're careful with the minus signs, and don't confuse addition and multiplication, you should be fine."

_Sure. I believe ya,_ Joey groaned sarcastically.

"There are a couple of formats for adding and subtracting, and they hearken back to earlier times, when you were adding and subtracting just plain old numbers. First, you learned addition 'horizontally,' like this." Mr. Kennedy wrote 6 + 3 = 9 up on the board. "You can add polynomials in the same way, grouping like terms and then simplifying."

_If he keeps this up, I might be able to understand it._

Next, Mr. Kennedy wrote an equation on the board.

"Now we're going to simplify (2_x_ + 5_y_) + (3_x_ – 2_y_). I'll clear the parentheses, group like terms, and then simplify."

As he worked through the problem, the result looked like this:

(2_x_ + 5_y_) + (3_x_ – 2_y_)  
= 2_x_ + 5_y_ + 3_x_ – 2_y_ _  
_= 2_x_ + 3_x_ + 5_y_ – 2_y_ _  
_= **5**_**x**_** + 3**_**y**_

"Horizontal addition works fine for simple examples. But when you were adding plain old numbers, you didn't generally try to add 432 and 246 horizontally; instead, you would _stack_ them vertically, one on top of the other, and then add down the columns."

He wrote another problem on the board. It read:

432

+ 246

678

_I guess that makes sense. It would be too hard solvin' that problem the other way._

"You can do the same thing with polynomials," Mr. Kennedy continued. "This is how the previous simplification exercise looks when it is done _vertically_." He put the same equation on the board; (2_x_ + 5_y_) + (3_x_ – 2_y_). "We'll put each variable in its own column, in this case, the first column will be the _x_-column, and the second column will be the _y_-column."

2_x + _5_y_

3_x _– 2_y_

5_x + _3_y_

"We get the same solution vertically as we got horizontally: 5_x + _3_y. _The format you use, whether horizontal or vertical, is a matter of taste (unless the instructions clearly tell you otherwise). Given a choice, you should use whichever format that you're most comfortable and successful with. Note that, for simple additions, horizontal addition (so you don't have to rewrite the problem) is probably the simplest, but, once the polynomials get more complicated, vertical is probably your safest bet (so you don't _drop_, or lose, terms and minus signs). Let's try this equation."

_I don't know about all this vertical/horizontal stuff, but I think I get it._

"Okay, that's it for today. There's no homework tonight because tomorrow we'll be starting subtracting polynomials. Just talk amongst yourselves until the bell rings."

_Finally. The crazy thing is…I understood today's lesson. Why? I've never understood math this quickly before. Maybe…our teacher was havin' a good day and was understandable for once?_

"Are you ready for gym, Puppy?"

"Huh? Oh. Yeah. I am. Let's go."

* * *

_Seesaw swingin' with the boys in the school  
And your feet flyin' up in the air  
Singin' "hey diddle diddle"  
With your kitty in the middle of the swing  
Like you didn't care_

_

* * *

_

_**Period 6 – Gym – Mr. Wilson's Class**_

Joey really didn't want to go into the Girl's Locker Room. She knew that crazy fangirl would be lurking somewhere and she didn't want to be around when she decided to show up.

"You're Katsuya, right?"

Joey jumped when she heard a voice behind her. She spun around and came face to face with Tea. Sighing in relief, Joey knew she was safe…for now.

"That's me. And ya are?"

"I'm Tea. It looks like we have gym together," she smiled.

Joey smiled back. "I guess so."

"Well, let's go," Tea urged enthusiastically, dragging her into the locker room. Joey shut her eyes almost immediately. She'd never seen so many nearly naked women in her entire life. Tea seemed to catch on and pulled her toward an empty row of lockers. "You've never dressed out in a locker room before have you?"

"Um, not exactly," Joey said hesitantly.

"That's okay. There's a first time for everything. Do you have a uniform to change into?"

"Yes. It's in my bag."

"Great! Let's change and get on out there!" Tea turned her back on Joey and started dressing out.

_I…didn't know Tea would be so…considerate. It makes me feel bad for pickin' on her_, Joey thought as she changed into her gym clothes. She wasn't too happy about them.

"Could they make these shorts any shorter?" Joey asked, tugging down on her very short shorts.

Tea giggled. "You know? They probably could. Let's just be grateful they're only this short."

"I guess you're right," she replied.

"Um…I know that you're dating Kaiba and all, but I hope that means we can…become friends," Tea said as they walked out of the locker room and headed for the gym.

"Why wouldn't we?" Joey inquired, curious to hear Tea's response.

"Well, Kaiba's not very fond of me and my friends. We try to be nice, but he's just so…standoffish toward us. But…I'm actually glad he found someone. I don't mean to pry, but…are you two happy together?"

Joey looked at Tea contemplatively. _Is this the kind of stuff girls talk about?_ "We're happy together, but I'm not gonna talk about how sweet he can be. He might get mad," she replied with a wink. Tea laughed.

"Oh, I think we're going to become great friends."

Joey stopped walking for a moment. "Tea?"

"Yes?" she responded, stopping too.

"Most of my friends have all been guys, so I'm not really used to havin'…a girl as a friend. Honestly…I don't really know what girls talk about…or do together."

"That's fine. All of my friends are guys, too. It'll be nice having another girl to talk to."

Joey smiled. "Same here. Now let's get goin'." They raced off into the gym.

* * *

_So I took a big chance at the high school dance  
With a missy who was ready to play  
Wasn't me she was foolin'  
'Cause she knew what she was doin'  
When she told me how to walk this way, she told me to_

_

* * *

_

Joey noticed her _friends _almost immediately. Tristan, Duke, Yugi, and Ryou were all hovering around Seto and it looked like they were trying to squeeze some information out of him. When Seto realized Joey had entered the gym, his jaw almost dropped to the floor.

_My Puppy has really nice legs_, he thought, gawking at Joey. He stopped, though, when he noticed all the other guys doing the same thing.

"STOP GAWKING AT MY GIRLFRIEND!" he roared threateningly.

Everyone jumped at his outburst, including Joey. She hadn't noticed she was being gawked at until all the guys in the class started running away from Seto in fear. That soon ended, however, when their gym teacher, Mr. Wilson, arrived.

"I'm glad you all could make it," he started. "Because today we are going to play a game of co-ed dodge ball!"

The girls groaned, the guys cheered.

* * *

_Walk this way, talk this way  
Walk this way, talk this way  
Walk this way, talk this way  
Walk this way, talk this way_

_

* * *

_

Mr. Wilson split them up into two teams. Joey discovered that not only were all her friends and Seto on the other team, but the psychotic fangirl was on hers. She wasn't too sure how this was going to turn out.

The medium sized rubber balls lay in a straight line in the middle of the gym.

"On my whistle, begin!" He blew his whistle. Everyone scrambled for the balls and started throwing them viciously at each other.

Joey ducked and weaved, grabbing balls here and there and throwing them at her opponents. She managed to get Yugi and Tea out and then grinned when the crazy fangirl on her team got hit. She was out.

Furious, the fangirl stormed toward Joey. "You think that's funny, do you?" She thrust the ball at Joey's stomach, but that's not all she thrust.

Joey gasped in pain when the fangirl pulled her arm back, her switchblade dripping blood. The ball fell to the floor as the fangirl walked away…as if nothing had happened.

Looking down at herself, Hoye saw her shirt becoming soaked with her own blood.

She was losing blood…a lot of it. Her vision started to blur.

* * *

_Just gimme a kiss  
Like this!_

_

* * *

_

Seto dodged another ball then glanced over at Joey, only to see her collapsing onto the floor, blood seeping down her front.

"No!" he shouted, sprinting over to Joey. Everyone stopped playing to see what was going on. They gasped in horror when they realized what was going on.

Seto took off his shirt and pressed it into Joey's bleeding abdomen, hoping to stop the bleeding. "Somebody help me!" he screamed. Yugi and the gang ran over to him while someone else called an ambulance.

Joey was feeling faint and her breathing grew more and more labored. "Puppy! Puppy! Stay with me, Puppy! Don't you dare leave me!" Seto cried, tears streaming down his face.

"Se…to?"

"Shh. Don't talk now. Just stay with me. Stay with me," he urged.

Joey could feel herself slipping away. "Se…to? I-I…lo-love ya…S-Se…to," she stammered hoarsely.

Her eyes closed.

"Puppy?" She didn't respond. Seto's sobs grew harsher. Even Yugi and the gang started crying.

"The ambulance is here!" someone yelled.

"Puppy, please wake up! Please!" Seto pleaded, trying to wake her.

"Out of our way!" ordered one of the paramedics as he pushed Seto out of the way. He picked up where Seto left off while the others picked Joey up and placed her on the stretcher. "She'll be taken to Domino Hospital."

"I'm coming with you!" Seto shouted, trying to follow the paramedics into the ambulance.

"I'm sorry. You'll have to meet us at the hospital." And with that, the back of the ambulance closed and drove off, sirens blaring deafeningly.

Seto dropped to his knees in shock; pulling on his hair with his bloodstained hands, he rocked himself back in forth.

"Puppy…who would do this to you?" he asked brokenly. He didn't hear Yugi and the gang approach him from behind. "You can't leave me, Joey. Not when I just found you. You can't leave me."

"That…was Joey?" Yugi exclaimed, appearing horrified.

Seto weakly turned to face them. "Y-Yes…it's Joey…my Joey…" he trailed off quietly. He stared blankly at the ground.

"Well, then let's get to the hospital!" Tea roared. "You're doing Joey no good by sitting there!"

"She's right!" said Yugi. "Let's all go!"

"Kaiba, I'm sure Joey will be fine. Let's go!" Tea insisted.

Seto got up from the ground shakily. "Let's go then," he replied quietly.

_I just hope you're right. I don't know what I'll do if I lose my Puppy._

_

* * *

_

**End Chapter**


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Jaded by Aerosmith

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 4 – Jaded**

It took Yugi and the gang a while before they could get Seto cleaned up, dressed, and to the hospital. Now that they were there, they didn't know what to do. Joey had been taken to the Emergency Room and they hadn't heard anything on her status for about an hour.

The last time they _had_ heard anything was when they were told that Joey's condition was critical and she was in surgery.

And the gang couldn't help but pity Seto. He sat by himself in the far corner of the waiting room, staring blankly at the floor. His eyes were glazed over in pain; the turmoil going on inside of him almost too excruciating to bear.

"Where's Seto? Where's my brother?"

The gang turned to see that Mokuba had arrived.

"Mokuba!" Yugi called out. The young boy saw him and rushed over.

"What's going on? All anyone would tell me is that you guys were at the hospital! What happened? Where's Seto?"

Yugi sighed wearily. "Your brother is over there," he said, indicating where Seto sat, unmoving. "It's…J-Joey…who's actually in the hospital. He…or well, _she's_ in the ER. Joey was stabbed at school."

"Joey was…" Mokuba glanced at his brother again, appearing quite shaken. "Seto," he said quietly. Slowly, the young boy inched toward his brother and knelt before him. "Seto?" he called. "Seto?"

The brunet's eyes began to clear. When he noticed Mokuba in front of him, he broke down and cried. "Joey was…I-I can't lose her, Mokuba. I just can't."

Mokuba didn't know what to do. He'd _never _seen his brother like this before. So he did the only thing he knew how; he hugged his big brother and let him cry.

* * *

_Ja ja jaded  
You gotch yo mama's style  
But you're yesterday's child to me  
So jaded  
You think that's where it's at but is that where it's supposed to be  
You're getting' it all over me  
X – rated_

* * *

When Seto felt his little brother embrace him, his entire resolve flew out the window. He tightened his grip around Mokuba and cried his heart out, his younger brother making soothing sounds in an attempt to calm him.

By that time, the entire gang had approached them and they were looking at Seto in wonder. None of them had ever seen him show this much emotion. Ever. It…made them feel the urge to cry as well. Seto…just looked like he'd lost a part of himself…like he was never going to get it back.

When Seto finally calmed down, he sniffed and pulled out of his brother's arms. "Thanks," he mumbled.

"No problem, big brother. You'd do the same for me," Mokuba replied. He didn't shed a tear. He felt he needed to be strong for his brother, even if Joey meant a lot to him as well.

"I-I keep seeing it…over and over again…I can't get rid of the sight of her collapsing to the floor…covered in blood…so much blood…" Seto started rocking himself back and forth again.

"Seto, she's going to be okay. I just know she is. She has to," Mokuba stated quietly. _I don't want us to lose Joey, big brother. She's like…the sister I never got to have_, he thought to himself, fighting back tears.

"I hope you're right," he whispered. But then his head shot up when a doctor came their way.

* * *

_My my baby blue  
Yeah I been thinkin bout you  
My my baby blue  
Yeah you're so jaded  
And I'm the one that jaded you_

* * *

"Hello," the doctor began. "You came in with an injured young woman?" he asked.

Seto stood from his seat shakily. "Yes."

"I'm…sorry to say that…we couldn't save her. She died during surgery. I'm sorry for your loss. Really, I am."

Seto felt his heart shatter into a million pieces while everyone gasped in shock.

Joey. His Joey…was gone. She was gone. Seto felt his legs give out as he collapsed onto his knees on the hard tiled floor. "She's gone?" he whimpered. A wild look entered his eyes. "She can't be gone…she can't be gone…"

The doctor looked at him sympathetically. "I am truly sorry for the loss of your wife, Mr. Toshin."

Wife?

Mr. Toshin?

"Dr. Higgins!" shouted another doctor, rushing over. "Wait! That's not Mr. Toshin! That's Mr. Kaiba!"

"Mr. Kaiba? Oh! I'm dreadfully sorry for the mix up," Dr. Higgins apologized frantically, looking pale.

"You should be," snarled the other doctor. She didn't look pleased. "I'm Dr. Marley. The young woman you came in with Mr. Kaiba is recovering in her room. The stabbing she received missed any vital organs, but she did lose a lot of blood. She's received seven stitches and a blood transfusion to replace all the blood she lost. She'll be fine. Weak, but fine."

Seto sighed in relief. He felt like he could breathe again. Standing up, he glared at Dr. Higgins coldly. Pulling back him arm, he punched the unsuspecting doctor in the face. He fell to the ground, clutching his broken nose.

Dr. Marley smiled. Apparently, she was pleased by this turn of events. "I never liked him. Anyway, she's asking for you, Mr. Kaiba. You'll find her in Room 106. I suggest the rest of you stay here. It might be too much for her to handle at the moment if all of you are there."

Mokuba and the gang reluctantly sat down in the waiting room chairs as Seto followed the doctor to Joey's room. "Here she is. I'll draw up all the necessary paperwork and she can be discharged tonight. Is that all right with you?"

Seto nodded mutely.

"Well, go in," Dr. Marley urged.

* * *

_Hey  
Ja ja jaded  
In all it's misery  
It will always be what I love  
And hated  
And maybe take a ride to the other side  
We're thinkin' of  
We'll slip into the velvet glove  
And be jaded_

* * *

Seto opened the door and entered Joey's room quietly. He noticed that she was staring out the window. She looked so frail and weak.

"Puppy?" the brunet whispered hoarsely, slowly approaching Joey's bed. Her head whipped around, and when she saw Seto standing there, her eyes filled with tears. Seto practically flew to her right side and cupped her face in his hands, pulling Joey in for a long, passionate kiss.

It seemed as if they poured their hearts and souls into that kiss. Joey was the first to break away.

"Seto! I-"

Seto silenced her with another kiss. Sliding a chair next to her bed, he sat down and held her hands. "I thought I lost you, Puppy," he said. It was then that Joey noticed how red and puffy the brunet's eyes were.

"I thought ya lost me, too," Joey replied softly, reaching up to stroke his face. "It…was one of your fangirls. She stabbed me."

Seto wrapped his arms around the blonde's trembling body as he tried to calm her. "I know, Puppy. I know. The police found her. She's been expelled and…institutionalized. Far away. She can't hurt you anymore. I'll make sure no one hurts you anymore. I can't lose you, Joey. I can't," he said, leaning back. He stared into her eyes. "I love you, Joey."

Her heart warmed at his declaration of love. "I love ya too, Seto. Um…when can I come home?" she asked quietly. "I don't wanna stay here." Hospitals made her…anxious.

Seto brought a hand to her face and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Tonight. You can come home with ME tonight. Do you know when you get the stitches out?"

"A couple weeks," Joey said distantly. "It seems like…I can never get away…from pain."

"Puppy, look at me," he said, turning her to face him again. "I promise you. No more pain. You're going to live with me and Mokuba and _stay_ with us. And I will protect you. Always. I know I wasn't able to before. I…didn't expect someone to grow so jealous of you. I'm so sorry, Joey. I know it was my fault." Tears started forming in his eyes again.

The blonde leaned forward so that her forehead rested against Seto's. "It's not your fault, Seto. Stop beatin' yourself up about it. Ya can't predict when these kinds of things will happen. And as long as I have ya and my friends, I can get through anythin'."

Seto smiled softly. "Speaking of friends, they're all waiting outside for you."

"What?" she exclaimed, bolting upright. Joey cringed when she felt herself pull against the stitches. "Ya told them I was a girl, didn't ya?" she hissed accusingly.

Seto fidgeted. "Accidentally. I was upset when you were taken away in the ambulance and I let slip your name. Yugi was the one who caught on. Do…you want to see them?"

Joey rested back against the pillows of the hospital bed and sighed. "Okay. Let them in."

* * *

_My my baby blue  
Yeah I'm thinkin' 'bout you  
My my baby blue  
Yeah I'm so jaded  
And baby I'm afraid a you_

* * *

Joey was almost pounced on by her friends, but Seto stopped them. A gentle reminder of Joey's condition made them stop in their tracks.

"Joey! We were so worried!" exclaimed Yugi tearfully.

"Don't scare us like that again," added Tea in the same manner.

"We're glad you're okay!" said Ryou.

Duke and Tristan just stood there staring at Joey openmouthed. They were still processing the fact that they'd hit on one of their closest friends.

Joey looked from Tristan to Duke. Her eyes narrowed. "Why are ya starin' at me like that?"

"I'm sorry I hit on you!" Duke and Tristan said simultaneously.

The blonde laughed. "It's all right, guys. Just don't do it again or my big, bad boyfriend will mess ya up."

"You mean Kaiba's really your boyfriend?" Tristan exclaimed in shock.

"Yes. Ya gotta problem with that?"

"No. No problem at all. I'm…just having a hard time taking this all in," he replied sheepishly.

"Hey! How did you get like this in the first place?" Tea inquired suddenly.

"Well…to make a long story short, rich boy over here gave me a job as a beta game tester on Saturday. When I went into the capsule to test out the virtual game, somethin' went wrong and I got turned into a girl. The program got wiped out, so we have to wait a few weeks before the system is up and runnin' again," Joey replied.

"So you're stuck like a girl until then?" asked Duke.

"This is so cool!" shouted Tea, making everyone jump. "Joey! We are going to have so much fun! We can do all sorts of girl stuff together!" Joey didn't like the maniacal glint Tea had in her eye. It couldn't be good…especially if it was…_shopping_.

"U-Um, yeah," Joey said hesitantly. She averted her gaze from Tea, only to notice that Mokuba stood at the back of the room, away from everyone. He hadn't said a word and he seemed…apprehensive. She had a feeling she knew what was going on. "Guys? It was nice seein' ya, but I'm really tired right now."

"We understand. We'll just go, but expect us to visit soon!" Yugi said happily. They said their goodbyes and left, Seto and Mokuba still standing in the room.

_Why'd she send them away?_ thought Seto.

Joey looked at Mokuba again. She held out her arms to him. "Come here," she called out softly.

Seto stepped back in shock when he saw Mokuba rush past him and into Joey's open arms. His shock became even more apparent when the blonde embraced him and Mokuba broke down in tears. Joey rubbed his back soothingly, trying to calm him.

"Shh. It's all right now. Everythin' is fine," she cooed. "Ya wanna talk about it?"

"I don't want you to go away," Mokuba whimpered as Joey wiped his face clear of tears. Seto pulled his chair closer to them and sat back down.

"I'm not goin' anywhere," Joey answered. "How could I leave someone like ya? I love ya guys."

"Y-You almost w-went away like Mom and Dad did," Mokuba cried softly.

"Oh, Mokuba," Joey sighed. She pulled Mokuba into her lap so that he would be more comfortable. Wrapping her arms around him securely, she kissed the top of his head and rocked him.

Seto felt his heart shudder. _He…is really attached to Joey, isn't he? He probably sees her as an…older sibling or something. If Joey were gone, both of us would lose her. Not just me. Mokuba loves her too. _"Mokuba?" called Seto. His little brother turned his tear-filled eyes toward him. "I'll protect Joey and you. I would never let anything happen to the both of you. I love you too much for that. So don't worry too much, okay?"

"Okay," replied Mokuba, snuggling up against Joey.

She smiled down at Mokuba and then at Seto. _I love these guys so much_, Joey thought to herself, looking back down at the young boy. He started to doze off in her arms. She ran her hand through his hair until he finally fell asleep. Snoring softly, Joey glanced at Seto. "He's a tough little guy, isn't he?"

"Yes…he is," Seto said, looking at the two of them. "He…didn't cry when he saw me break down out in the waiting room. He was trying to be strong…for me."

"Ya should…let him know that it's okay to cry. Cryin' doesn't mean you're not strong. If ya cry _with_ someone, you're lettin' each other know that ya feel the same pain…and share in the sufferin'," Joey responded softly.

"He wasn't exactly ashamed to cry when he bawled in your lap a few minutes ago."

"I know that. What I mean is…let him know that it's okay to cry with _ya_. Do ya understand now?"

"Not really," Seto replied quietly, but honestly. He didn't get it. This only made Joey mad, but before she could respond, Dr. Marley came into the room.

"Well, isn't that sweet. Are you ready to go home, my dear?" she asked.

"Yes. I'm ready to go home," Joey answered eagerly. She really wanted to leave this place.

"All right. I'll just have Mr. Kaiba sign some papers and then you can leave. But I'm afraid we don't have anything for you to change into. You'll have to leave in your hospital gown."

"That's fine. I just wanna get out of here."

"Okay. Mr. Kaiba? If you'll sign these?" Dr. Marley handed over the papers while he quickly signed here and there. "It looks like you're good to go. We can take your stitches out in about two weeks. Try not to move around too much and take some of these prescribed painkillers. I'll leave you to it then," Dr. Marley said, heading out of the hospital room.

"You ready to leave, Puppy?" asked Seto.

"Ya know I am." Joey gently nudged Mokuba in order to wake him up. He rubbed his eyes sleepily. "We're goin' home now."

"I don't wanna go if you're not," Mokuba protested groggily.

"We're _all _goin' home," Joey laughed. "But we can't go anywhere if you're still in my lap."

Mokuba hopped off, embarrassed that he'd been cuddled up in Joey's lap. But…he couldn't help it. He felt safe there.

Joey pulled down the blankets and swung her legs to the side of the bed. Standing up, she nearly collapsed because she felt so weak.

Seto caught her as soon as she wobbled. Slipping his arms behind her shoulders and legs, he lifted Joey bridal style and started carrying her out of the hospital.

"Ya know this is embarrassin', right?" Joey mumbled into his chest, trying to hide her face.

"I thought you wanted to leave?" Seto smirked.

"I do, but-"

"Joey! Let's just get home so you can rest and eat and sleep!" interrupted Mokuba.

"You're not gonna let me do anythin', are ya?" Joey said, narrowing her eyes at Mokuba as they reached the limo. The young boy hopped in first so that he could avoid answering. Joey went in next, followed by Seto. "Mokuba, I can do things for myself. If I need help, I'll ask for it. It's not like I'm gonna purposely overexert myself."

"But that doesn't mean we'll let you do anything on your own, does it Mokuba?" Seto stated with a wink.

Mokuba smiled at his brother. "Nope!" he chirped.

Joey groaned between them. "Ya guys are impossible."

* * *

_Your thinkin's so complicated  
I've had it all up to here  
But it's so overrated  
Love and hate it  
Wouldn't trade it  
Love me jaded_

* * *

Once they reached the mansion, Seto led Joey upstairs while Mokuba fetched Ella. When they got to the top, the blonde stopped him.

"Seto?" she whispered quietly. Joey gripped his hand tightly.

He turned to see a frightened look on her face. "What is it, Puppy?" he said soothingly.

"Can I stay in your room, please? I don't wanna be alone," Joey begged desperately.

Seto put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "Of course you can. We'll go to your room and get some of your things and then I'll set you up in mine, okay?"

"Okay," she said, relaxing a bit. They went into her room and Joey grabbed a few things then walked into the bathroom. "I'm gonna change out of this hospital gown."

"All right. I'll be in my room. Yell if you need me," replied Seto.

Joey pulled off the hospital gown and looked at herself in the mirror. Her hand gingerly touched the stitches on her abdomen just above her left hip. _It's gonna leave a scar…a small one, but it'll still leave a scar._ She pulled on a pair of flannel pajama pants and a tank top. Stepping back into her room, she grabbed her Red-Eyes Black Dragon plushie and headed for Seto's room.

When Joey didn't see him, she assumed he was in his closet, so she plopped herself on his bed and clutched her plushie. Seto emerged from his closet a moment later wearing some romp around at home clothes. As soon as he saw Joey, he smiled.

"Hey," he said, crawling onto the bed next to her. "Are you okay?"

"Can ya hold me for a bit?" she pleaded quietly.

Seto sat up and pulled her into his lap. She clutched onto him and buried her head in the crook of his neck. "Puppy? What's wrong?"

"I'm scared. I'm afraid somethin' else will happen and that…next time…I won't be so lucky."

Seto closed his eyes and rested his chin atop her head. "Don't think about that. I only want you to think about happy things from now on. Us…Mokuba…your new life here…and the career you're going to pursue as a pianist."

Joey laughed at that. "Oh, so I'm gonna become a professional pianist now, am I? Does that mean ya want private concerts?" she asked with a smirk.

"Only if you're willing," he chuckled.

"I like hearin' ya laugh, Seto. Ya need to do it more."

"I will if you will."

"It's a deal then."

* * *

_Hey  
Ja ja jaded  
There ain't no baby please  
When I'm shootin' the breeze with her  
When everything you see is a blur  
And ecstasy's what you prefer_

* * *

The next few weeks went quite peacefully. Since Joey was too afraid to go back to school, Seto had opted to set the two of them up with homeschooling. Her friends still visited from time to time, but she just felt more comfortable with Seto and Mokuba.

Everyday, Joey would sit at Seto's piano and just play for him. And sometimes…he would play with her.

It was during these intimate moments that Joey knew she had fallen even more deeply in love with the CEO. And she wanted to do something to show just how much she truly loved him.

* * *

_My my baby blue  
(blue blue blue blue yeah)  
Yeah I'm talkin' 'bout you  
My my baby blue  
(blue blue blue blue yeah)  
Yeah I've been thinkin' 'bout you  
My my baby blue  
Yeah you're so jaded  
(Jaded)  
Jaded  
(Jaded)  
You're so jaded  
Cause I'm the one that jaded you_

* * *

Joey walked into Seto's bedroom and stretched. It felt so good to have those itchy stitches out. She moved over to the bed and collapsed onto it, her head hitting the pillows. Seto wasn't home yet…which gave her time to get ready.

The blonde got up and went into the bathroom and took a quick bath, changing into a pair of black panties and that really flimsy nightgown Ella had made her buy. Next, she dabbed a little bit of almond scented cream along her neck and wrists. Looking at herself in the mirror, she ruffled her hair to give it some volume, then walked out of the bathroom.

She pulled down the sheets on the bed and lit a few scented candles. Glancing at the clock, she realized that Seto would be home soon. It was almost 10:00 PM. He'd called and said that he had to work late tonight, which was good because it meant that they would be interrupted.

Smiling to herself, she stepped into his walk-in closet and waited.

Seto opened the door to his room, briefcase in hand. He assumed Joey would already be asleep in his bed, so he locked the door behind him and set down his briefcase. Taking off his trench coat, he tossed it and looked at the bed. His jaw literally dropped.

The sheets were turned down and there was a slight aroma of cherry in the air. And his Puppy was nowhere to be seen.

"Puppy?" he called out, searching for her.

"Yes, Seto?" she answered huskily, revealing herself as she stepped out of the closet seductively.

Seto almost fell over in shock. Joey, his Puppy, was wearing a really skimpy red nightgown that was practically see-through. "Puppy?" he stammered as she approached him. He tried to back away, but Joey pulled him back when she started undoing his belt. "What are you doing?"

Joey stared into his eyes. "I wanna give myself to ya, Seto. Please?" she said, kissing him gently on the lips. "Please?" She succeeded in removing his belt and dropped it onto the floor. "Will ya give yourself to me?"

Seto felt his mouth go dry, making him unable to speak, so he just nodded.

* * *

Seto rolled onto his back in exhaustion, pulling Joey with him so that she lay on his chest. Joey snuggled up against him as Seto leaned up slightly and pulled the sheets over them. He kissed her gently on the forehead as she relaxed against him.

"I love ya, Seto."

"I love you too, Puppy."

* * *

**End Chapter**


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Dream On by Aerosmith

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 5 – Dream On**

Seto woke to his cell phone ringing. Groggily opening his eyes, his hand danced around his nightstand until he found it. Flipping it open, Seto's ears were accosted by frantic employees, exclaiming that something had gone terribly wrong with the computers and that they couldn't get it under control. The CEO reluctantly let them know he'd be coming in as soon as possible. This reassured his employees somewhat and he snapped his phone shut irritatingly.

Putting his phone back on the nightstand, Seto looked down at the blonde beauty splayed across his chest. He smiled happily when he remembered last night's activities. It felt wonderful how they'd given themselves to each other. Seto never imagined that making love with someone you truly cared for could feel so uplifting. He felt as if he could do anything.

Seto gently nudged Joey awake. "Puppy? Time to get up," he said softly. His request was met by a loud yawn. Joey stretched then snuggled back up against Seto.

"Why?" came her muffled reply. Seto noticed that her eyes were still closed.

"Because my idiotic employees called me in to work. I'd rather stay here in bed with you, but those morons can't do anything right, it seems," he answered, gently stroking her back.

Joey groaned, rising from the bed, the sheets pooling about her waist as she stretched. When Seto snickered, she gave him a weird look. "What?"

"If you don't want me to ravage you this morning, I suggest you cover up," he replied with a devilish smirk.

Joey gasped in shock as she realized she was completely naked. Scrambling to pick up the sheet to cover herself, the blonde blushed furiously when she remembered what happened last night. "Pervert!"

Seto chuckled loudly at her accusation. "No, I think you are more the pervert than I. Who's the one who jumped me last night? Not that I minded or anything," he added slyly.

"Jerk," she mumbled, but then her face grew serious. "Um…how long are ya gonna be at work?"

He sighed as he rose from the bed in all his naked glory. "I don't know. It depends on what the problem is. By the sound of it, I'll probably be home later tonight. Since it's Saturday, do you mind looking after Mokuba while I'm gone? You guys can go out or something if you'd like. Just keep him occupied. Sometimes he's quite restless during the weekends when nobody's here."

"Sure! I don't mind spendin' time with the little guy," Joey replied happily, trying to avoid looking at Seto's lower half.

"Thanks, Puppy," he said, bending over and giving her a quick peck on the lips. As he pulled away, Joey pulled him back. The kisses eventually got longer…more intense…more urgent…and more passionate.

Seto groaned as he finally managed to pull back completely. "Puppy," he growled, giving her another peck on the lips, "I really have to go."

Joey smiled seductively at him. "Then go. I'll be waitin' for ya when ya get back."

"Okay," Seto responded, thinking of all the naughty things they could possibly do together as he headed for the door.

"Oh, and Seto?"

"Yes, Joey?" he asked, turning to face her. She had a malicious grin on her face.

"Are ya sure ya wanna go to work like that?" Joey smirked.

Seto turned beet red when he realized he was about to go to work naked. What the hell was he thinking? Joey was starting to become too much of a distraction.

But a very good one.

* * *

_Every time I look in the mirror  
All these lines on my face getting clearer  
The past is gone  
It goes by, like dusk to dawn  
Isn't that the way  
Everybody's got their dues in life to pay_

* * *

After Seto left for work—fully dressed this time—Joey went downstairs to find Mokuba. She found him in the kitchen eating a bowl of cereal.

"Hey, kiddo. Seto had to go to work today. Somethin'…bad happened, I guess, and he won't be back until later tonight. So we have permission to do whatever we want. What do ya wanna do with me today?" asked Joey, pouring herself a bowl of cereal. She started eating as Mokuba thought it over.

"Can we go to the park?" he asked.

"Sure."

"Will…you play soccer with me, too?" Mokuba asked.

"Of course I'll play with ya! I love soccer!" Joey answered cheerfully. "Let's get changed and then we'll go to the park, okay? Oh! Let's have a picnic or somethin' too!"

"Ooh! Okay! Let's have lots of junk food and all the stuff Seto won't let me eat!"

"Well…we won't go completely junk food crazy. I'll put together the food and ya can get your soccer ball and whatever else ya wanna to play with."

"Okay! Thanks!" he exclaimed, running off to change into something more suitable for the park.

"You're welcome, Mokuba!" Joey laughed excitedly.

* * *

_Yeah, I know nobody knows  
Where it comes and where it goes  
I know it's everybody's sin  
You got to lose to know how to win_

* * *

It was a beautiful day to go to the park. The sun was out, it was warm, and everything seemed to spring to life outside. Joey and Mokuba found a nice spot to lay down their blanket. It was underneath a large pine tree, minus any pinecones. They didn't want to be bonked on the head by one.

Joey set their picnic basket down and a bag filled with a few other things when she said, "Do ya wanna play for a bit before we have lunch?"

"Yeah!" Mokuba cried, grabbing his soccer ball. "Let's go!" He ran off toward the open field near the tree and dropped the ball on the ground. Joey charged after him.

They played excitedly for about an hour until their play came to an abrupt halt by Mokuba tripping over the ball and landing hard on his knees. He'd put his hands out to catch himself, but it didn't prevent him from scraping his knees on a sharp rock. "Ow!"

Joey ran over to Mokuba and helped him to his feet. Quickly examining the damage, she concluded that he'd scraped the palms of his hands and had a few cuts on each knee. "Come on," Joey said, guiding Mokuba toward their blanket, abandoning the treacherous soccer ball.

When they reached the blanket, Joey told Mokuba to sit down. He did and grimaced when he bent his knees. She searched through her pack for the small first aid kit she'd brought, along with a washcloth and a bottle of water.

"Okay. Let's clean off your hands first," Joey said, pulling out a mini bar of soap from her first aid kit. She poured some water over Mokuba's hands, trying to get most of the dirt off before she lathered them with soap and gently cleaned them. Rinsing off his hands, she took note that there were barely any scrapes on them and would do without bandaging.

She moved onto his knees next. Joey poured some water over his knees and dabbed them clean with the towel. Next, she pulled out a small bottle of peroxide. "This is going to sting a bit, okay?"

"Okay," came Mokuba's muffled reply. Joey poured the peroxide on his left knee first and blew on it slightly to alleviate some of the pain.

Mokuba bit back a whine.

"It's okay. We're almost done." Joey did the same to his right knee. When she felt they were sufficiently cleaned, she rinsed off his knees, dried them, and put a Band-Aid on each knee. "There we go. All done. Ya okay now?" she asked softly.

Mokuba smiled awkwardly. "I'm okay."

"Okay," she said, rubbing his back. "Do ya wanna go home or-"

"No!" Mokuba interrupted. "Let's have lunch first. You spent a lot of time putting the food together, so we might as well eat it here. We can go home after lunch."

Joey smiled at his insistence. "Well…maybe not after lunch. How about we have lunch, go for some ice cream, and then go home?"

Mokuba nodded his head vigorously. Joey laughed at his enthusiasm. She reached over for the basket and started pulling out food. "I expect ya to eat what I give ya or no ice cream, got it?"

"Got it," Mokuba said with a salute.

Joey tossed him a turkey sandwich with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, mustard, and mayo; a small bag of BBQ potato chips; a banana; carrot sticks with ranch dip; a giant chocolate chip cookie; and a bottle of apple juice.

Mokuba's eyes widened at the carefully constructed meal. He couldn't complain about variety, that was for sure. But he had to admit, Joey was clever in finding ways to get him to eat his fruits and veggies.

There were vegetables on the sandwich; he didn't mind them there. The carrot sticks were easily covered up by the ranch dip and he actually liked bananas. Apple juice was his favorite and the chips and cookie were more of a bonus.

"Ya at least have to eat one set of fruit and one set of vegetables in order to get ice cream. The sandwich or carrots count as one vegetable; the banana or apple juice count as one fruit. Got that? I expect them to be devoured," Joey said sternly.

Mokuba laughed. "Don't worry, I will."

* * *

_Half my life  
Is in books' written pages  
Lived and learned from fools and  
From sages  
You know it's true  
All the things come back to you_

* * *

Mokuba stayed true to his word. In fact, he'd eaten everything Joey had given him, much to her surprise. That earned the young boy three scoops of chocolate ice cream.

When they finally got home, Joey and Mokuba played video games, had dinner, and watched a movie before it was time for him to go to bed. As bedtime rolled around the corner, Seto still hadn't come home.

"Can you tuck me in?" Mokuba asked, tugging on Joey's shirt. He was already dressed in his pajamas.

Joey smiled at him. "Of course I'll tuck ya in."

Mokuba grabbed her hand as they went upstairs and into his bedroom. He hopped into the bed and slid under the covers. Joey pulled them up to his shoulders. "Goodnight, Mokuba," she whispered, giving him a light kiss on the forehead.

"Wait. Can you…stay for a bit?" Mokuba asked. "Until I fall asleep?"

"Okay," Joey replied, sitting on the edge of the bed. She stroked Mokuba's hair gently as she hummed softly. His eyes were just starting to close when Seto came through the door. Mokuba's eyes shot open.

"Seto!" he exclaimed. His big brother walked swiftly to the bed, a smile on his face as he reached down and gave his brother a hug.

"It looks like I made it just in time, huh?" said Seto.

"How'd it go?" asked Joey.

"Better than I thought it would. All the computers crashed. It took awhile before the computers could reboot and most of them didn't recover the data. So we had to go from computer to computer installing the data. It wasn't hard to do, just time consuming."

"Well, it's good that everything's okay now," said Mokuba.

"And how was your day?" Seto asked interestedly.

"We went to the park, played soccer, I fell and hurt myself, but Joey cleaned me up, and then we had a picnic. She made me eat my fruits and vegetables too, Seto. And because I did, she treated me to ice cream. Then we came home and played video games and after dinner we watched a movie!" Mokuba answered animatedly.

"It sounds like you had a busy day. And I'm pretty sure you're tired, so how about we get you tucked in so you can go to sleep, hm?" replied Seto.

"Okay," Mokuba said, crawling back under the covers. Seto leaned down to give him a kiss on the top of his head, whispering a goodnight. He stood up and went toward the door.

Joey gave Mokuba one last hug and kiss on the forehead, but before she could leave, he pulled her back into another hug. Seto watched in confusion as Mokuba whispered something in Joey's ear. She whispered back and walked toward Seto.

"Goodnight, Mokuba," said Seto.

"Sweet dreams," Joey added.

Seto turned off the light and closed the door quietly. He looked at Joey for a minute before they entered his room.

"What did he say to you?" he asked curiously.

Joey blushed. "Can I avoid answerin' if I say that it's our little secret?"

Seto frowned. "No. What did he say?" he asked more firmly.

Joey's embarrassment turned into anxiousness, so she started to fidget with her hands. Seto stopped her by putting her hands in his own. "What did he say, Puppy?"

"Mokuba said that he loved me and called me…Sis. And I told him that I loved him back. Um…you're not mad about that…are ya?" Joey asked hesitantly.

Seto was awestruck, to say the least. "He wants to call you Sis?"

"Yeah."

"I guess that's fine," he said softly. They stared at each other awkwardly before Seto broke the silence. "Look, we've both had a long day, so why don't you go and take a nice, relaxing bath, okay?"

"That…sounds very nice," Joey sighed, heading for the bathroom.

* * *

_Sing with me, sing for the year  
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tears  
Sing with me, if it's just for today  
Maybe tomorrow, the good lord will take you away_

_Yeah, sing with me, sing for the year  
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tear  
Sing with me, if it's just for today  
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away_

* * *

The next morning Seto was awakened, yet again, by another phone call. Grumbling to himself, he violently grabbed his phone and flipped it open aggressively. "What?" he snapped. After a rather…_long_ conversation, Seto hung up the phone, a far-off look on his face.

Joey opened her eyes in time to see Seto's distant expression. "Seto? What's wrong?" she asked, rising up to give him a soothing peck on the lips. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, Joey's head resting in the crook of his neck.

"Nothing's…wrong. It's just that I got a call from my employees. They said that the capsule and program should be ready in a week. You can…change back," he answered quietly. _What's Joey going to decide? I don't want to put her through any unwanted stress about making her decision in a week. It doesn't matter to me what my Puppy decides. As long as she's happy, I am._ "Puppy?"

Joey remained quiet and unmoving for a bit before saying, "I can change back? By the end of the week?" she asked emotionlessly.

"Yes. You can…if you want to, that is. The decision is yours. I'm fine with it either way, Puppy," Seto said reassuringly. "You don't have to answer just yet if you're still unsure about what it is you want to do. Just give it time. Think about it." He gave her a delicate kiss on the forehead.

"Okay," she said softly. _What do I want? Do I want to remain a girl? Or go back to being a guy? I'm…not sure. How can I be not sure?_

* * *

_Dream On Dream On Dream On  
Dream until your dreams come true_

* * *

It was amazing how fast a week went by. Joey spent just about every waking hour of every day contemplating her situation.

And today…Joey came to her final decision. She would change back and become the _real_ Joey Wheeler again.

Telling Seto she'd made her final decision, they both set off for Kaiba Corp. in silence. When they reached the company, Seto led her to the room that had made her this way so many weeks ago.

Before they went in, Seto stopped her. "Are you sure you want to do this, Joey?" he asked seriously.

Joey nodded slowly in compliance. For the past week she'd been so nervous and afraid of making the wrong decision, she started to feel sick. "I…I wanna do this by myself, Seto. Is that all right with ya?" she asked meekly.

Seto released his breath in a loud huff. "Sure," he said reluctantly as he handed her some clothes that would fit her as a guy. "I have to go check on my employees anyway. Just come and find me when you're done. Okay, Puppy?"

"Okay," she answered shakily. Seto leaned down and gave her a long, tender kiss.

"Good. I'll be waiting for you," he said as he stepped away from her and walked away.

Joey took a deep breath and walked into the room that housed the capsule. The workers in the room greeted her politely.

"Are you ready?" one of them asked. Joey nodded in compliance. "All right, we'll get started soon."

"Um…how is this gonna work exactly? How do ya know it'll change me back to the way I was before?"

"Well, we were able to salvage the files of your exact transformation from when you changed into a woman. When you step into the capsule, it will match your virtual profile with your current body and then we can initiate the program to switch your gender. Does that make any sense?"

"I guess so."

"It looks like we're ready. So step on into the capsule."

Joey did so, hugging herself when the doors shut. She could hear people talking from the outside. Suddenly the capsule seemed to whir to life and it started scanning her. When it finished, it—

Shut off.

And opened.

Joey just stood there and looked down, just as Seto's employees did. She hadn't changed back. She was still a girl.

"What happened? Why didn't it work?" exclaimed Joey, rushing out of the open capsule.

Everyone scrambled around reading the layout on the monitors. "This…doesn't make any sense."

"What? What doesn't make any sense? Tell me what's goin' on!" demanded Joey, losing her patience.

The main employee looked at her solemnly. "Um…your body isn't the same as it was when you first changed. Our data can't match with you because…you're different than you were before. Has anything happened to your body since you became a woman?"

"I…I was stabbed and had to get stitches," Joey replied, reflecting back. How could something like a stabbing prevent her from changing back, though?

The employee shook his head. "No. Nothing outwardly physical would do that. Something might have changed with your body chemistry."

"Body chemistry?"

"Perhaps. I'm…not really sure. Maybe we did something wrong. I don't know," he rambled then sighed. "We'll have to go back over everything. We'll notify Mr. Kaiba once we've done just that. You may leave so we can get to work on that."

Joey left the room a bit shaken. _I can't change back? Because my body chemistry might have changed? But how? It's not like I have someone else's DNA—_

Her eyes widened as something crossed her mind. Running as fast as she could, she fled Kaiba Corp. without trying to find Seto to let him where she was going. This was something she had to do on her own. She just hoped Seto wouldn't be angry with her if her assumptions were correct.

* * *

_Dream On Dream On Dream On  
Dream until your dream comes through_

* * *

Joey arrived at the mansion walking much like a zombie. She opened the door and stepped inside and just stood where she was.

"Joey? What are you doing here? I thought were at Kaiba Corp. with Seto. Didn't you say you were going to change back?" questioned Mokuba, looking at her quite worriedly. He grew a little uneasy when she didn't respond. "Joey?" he called again, stepping in front of her. "Are you okay?"

Still no answer.

Mokuba glanced around to see if they were alone. "Sis?" he stated quietly.

Joey jolted out of her daze when she heard that. Tears suddenly filled her eyes as she ran away from Mokuba. "Just leave me alone!" she yelled, racing up the stairs. She slammed the door to her room shut and locked it. Walking toward the bathroom door, she locked that one, too.

And then she started trashing her room. Joey threw anything she could get her hands on. After her tantrum, she opened the door to her balcony, stepped outside and collapsed on the ground, the cold wind nipping at her seemingly fragile body.

* * *

_Dream On Dream On Dream On  
Dream On Dream On  
Dream On Dream On_

* * *

Seto marched down to the lower level of Kaiba Corp. so that he could fetch Joey. Since she hadn't come to him, he assumed Joey was still there. Upon reaching the room, he was faced with his employees scrambling back and forth with monitoring the program and Joey nowhere in sight.

"Where's Joey?" he demanded.

"She left already, sir."

_She?_ "Joey changed her mind about changing back?" he asked, stunned.

"Um…no. It didn't work."

"What do you mean it didn't work? What the hell do I pay you for?" Seto screamed angrily. _She's probably upset that it didn't work. That's why she left without telling me._

"It's not our fault!" his employee explained. "Her current body wasn't a match from the data we had of her before. We don't know why the program didn't recognize her. We're working on it right now. Mr. Kaiba, sir, we're very sorry for the delay, but we'll call you as soon as we fix the problem."

Seto nodded to them curtly then left the room. _Joey…why'd you run away? You could have come to me and told me what happened. Why—_

His thoughts were interrupted by his cell phone ringing. "Kaiba," he growled as he answered it.

"Seto!"

"Mokuba! Is Joey th—"

"You need to get home now! Joey came home and she looked really upset. She wouldn't talk to me and told me to leave her alone. She was crying, too, Seto. But Joey locked herself in her room. She even locked the bathroom door. I could hear her throwing things all over the place but now it just got really quiet. I can't hear her anymore, Seto and I can't get in her room. I'm all alone," Mokuba cried through the phone.

"Mokuba? Listen to me. I'm coming home right now. I'll be there as fast as I can, okay?" Seto said quickly.

"Okay."

Hanging up the phone, Seto bolted through the front doors of his company in a desperate attempt to get home.

_Puppy, please don't have done anything to hurt yourself…please…_

* * *

_Sing with me, sing for the year  
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tear  
Sing with me, if it's just for today  
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away  
Sing with me, sing for the year  
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tear  
Sing with me, if it's just for today  
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away..._

* * *

Seto burst through the mansion doors almost immediately. He ran up the stairs and made his way to Joey's room. Mokuba was standing outside her door, staring at it as if he were willing it open.

"Mokuba." Said boy turned his head and ran into his brother's arms.

"She hasn't made a sound. Joey won't answer when I call her, Seto," he said.

Seto glanced at the door warily before pulling out of Mokuba's embrace. "Stay here," he ordered as he walked toward Joey's door. He turned the knob. It was locked just as Mokuba had said. "Joey? It's Seto. Can you open the door please?" He couldn't hear a thing. It was completely silent.

Taking a step back, Seto ran full force at the door, trying to bust it open. He succeeded after the third try.

Upon stepping inside, he halted in his tracks. Joey's room was a complete disaster. She'd knocked over the furniture, torn the curtains from the windows, and had trashed everything. His eyes searched the room for the blonde, but he couldn't see her. Stepping further into the room, he noticed that the balcony door was open.

_No. She couldn't have—_

Seto ran to the balcony and quickly peered over the rail. Seeing nothing, he turned, only to find Joey huddled in the far corner of the balcony, her arms clasped tightly around her knees, and her eyes puffy and red.

He knelt in front of her cautiously. "Puppy?" he called softly as he took hold of her shoulders.

Joey flinched and slapped his hands away. "Don't touch me," she said hoarsely.

Seto sighed and sat in front her. "Joey, they told me what happened and they're working on it right now. You'll be able to change back in no time," he said reassuringly.

Joey trembled. "No. I can't," she answered brokenly.

Seto was confused. "What do you mean, Puppy? Why can't you change back?" He was met with silence as she stared off distantly. "Let's get you inside. I know you're probably freezing by now." He stood up and waited for Joey to follow suit. When she made no indication of moving, he bent down and picked her up bridal style and carried her back into her room, out the door, and into his.

"Is Joey okay, Seto?" asked Mokuba frantically.

"I don't know," he answered quietly. Mokuba ran in front of him and pulled the covers down from his bed as Seto laid Joey on it. He pulled the covers over her and sat down on the edge of the bed. Mokuba did the same.

Seto tentatively reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, but she moved away from his touch and sat up, avoiding eye contact. "Puppy, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong," he said desperately. He was really getting scared by her behavior. "You're frightening both me and Mokuba. Can you please tell me what's made you so upset?"

Joey seemed to be struggling with maintaining her composure when she finally looked Seto in the eyes. "I love ya, Seto. I love both ya and Mokuba more than anythin'."

"I love you, too, Joey. You and Mokuba are my life," replied Seto lovingly.

Joey glanced off to the side before focusing on him again. "Would…ya love me…no matter what happens to me?" she asked uneasily.

Seto was unsure by what she meant, but answered anyway. "Yes. No matter what happens to you, I would still love you."

"And ya wouldn't get mad…or angry?" she added softly.

"No. I would not get mad or angry. Now tell me what's going on," he begged.

Joey's teary eyes met his fearfully. "S-Seto! I-I'm pregnant!"

* * *

**End Chapter**


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Love in an Elevator by Aerosmith

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 6 – Love in an Elevator**

Seto was glad he was sitting down, because surely if he'd been standing he would have collapsed from shock. He felt his mouth drop open. For the first time in his life, he was speechless. There were so many emotions running through him that he hardly knew how to identify them; much less give them the attention they deserved. Surprise, excitement, panic, and an overwhelming emotion he couldn't quite identify at all.

"You're pregnant?" Seto said, and his voice broke.

Joey looked at him with anticipation. "Please…tell me ya want the baby," she said quietly. That was what she needed to hear more than anything.

Seto looked down at his Puppy and felt his eyes mist over. He rose and pulled her up with him, holding her close.

"Of course I want us to have the baby," he said hoarsely. "Oh, Joey, I can't believe it." Seto tilted his head back and laughed for joy, making her smile. It was the first time she'd heard him laugh like that. Then he lifted Joey's face and kissed her firmly on the mouth. He realized she was still on her feet so he pushed her back down on the bed and then started to pace about the room as he started thinking, nearly knocking Mokuba over, who still stood there in shock.

"I'm going to be an uncle!" the young boy whooped finally, running over to Joey and giving her a big hug. Joey felt tears come to her eyes. This was what she always wanted. A family to call her own. And she finally had one.

"I'm so glad ya guys want me to have the baby. I was afraid that ya wouldn't want me to have it, Seto," Joey said finally after she released Mokuba from her embrace.

Seto halted in his tracks, and thoughts, as stared at her in shock. "Why…would you think that, Puppy?"

"I-I don't know," she replied, looking as if she were about to cry again. "When I found out, I was scared. Not just havin' a baby inside me, but what you'd think of me after findin' out. When I made my way home, I'd convinced myself that ya wouldn't want me like this, but I've wanted a family of my own so much that the thought of gettin' rid of the baby hurt too much. I guess I just thought that since I got pregnant…ya wouldn't want me anymore. And I didn't know if ya ever wanted children, but I want my own family. Plus, it's not like we've been in a relationship for very long."

Seto nodded his head in understanding as he sat back down on the bed next to her. "You don't ever have to worry about that. I'd love for you to have my children. It'll be as fun having them as it was making them," he said with a smirk.

Joey blushed.

Mokuba jumped off the bed in alarm. "Augh! That means you did it! In here!" he screamed, running from the room hysterically.

"I think…ya just destroyed your brother's innocence," Joey commented bluntly.

"What innocence? If he's capable enough to get us together, then he's capable of handling his brother procreating."

"On a very basic level that might be true…but seriously, if the roles were reversed, do ya actually think you'd want to have thoughts of your brother doin' the deed with his girlfriend?"

Seto paled at the thought. "I see your point." He crawled over to Joey and gently pulled her into his lap. "I'm so happy, Puppy," he said, kissing her on the cheek.

"I am now, too," she giggled. "I'm so glad you want us."

"Of course I do. Um…if you don't mind me asking, how did you find out you were pregnant anyway?" It was a logical question. He didn't know how long it took before a woman realized she had conceived. They'd only been having sex for a little more than a week.

"It was only after one of your employees said that somethin' must have changed my body chemistry that I thought I might be pregnant. We hadn't used any protection when we…um…h-had sex, so…on a whim I thought I might be pregnant. I went to the doctor and got a pregnancy test and he said that I was a week along in my pregnancy. Ya must be pretty fertile, Seto. And he said to make an appointment with a doctor soon so that I can get prenatal care."

"Okay. We'll get a doctor as soon as possible. Of course you'll have to rest from now on. No more running around with Mokuba, no more trips to see your friends. I don't know that I trust the limo or the car to get you here and there back safely enough. Reading will probably be fine. Carrying a baby is a difficult thing, Joey, and I'm not going to lose you because of our baby. Too many women lose their lives during childbirth. I've waited my whole life for you. I'm not giving you up that easily."

"Se—"

"Your friends will also have to visit less. We can't have them stressing you out. We'll also hire a nanny and a wet nurse so that you don't have to overexert yourself, but I'm sure Ella won't mind pitching in. And the nursery! We'll have to prepare that soon, won't we? Maybe I'll also hire an actual chef so that you can be fed properly. And no more peanut butter. I don't think it'll be good for you—"

"Seto?"

"And no more cookies. Ice cream is definitely forbidden. Yes, Joey, you'll need plenty of rest and as little exercise as possible. I don't want our baby causing you any more stress than necessary—"

"Seto!"

He stopped rambling and looked at her. "Yes?" Whatever she wanted, he would give to her promptly and willingly.

Joey turned around slightly so that she could see him better. "You're not gonna lose me like ya did your mother, so calm down. And my friends will still come and visit me, but I won't visit them unless ya come with me."

"But—"

"And you're not gonna hire a chef, or a nanny, or a wet nurse. That would just hurt Ella's feelin's. I won't run around with Mokuba anymore, but I will exercise and you're gonna do it with me. Even if it means walkin' around your yard fifty times a day. And we'll go out in the limo or your car because we'll need to do some shoppin' for our baby." She paused for breath. "What else did ya say?"

Seto took her hand and kissed it before pulling her closer to him. "A whole lot of nothing, probably."

Joey leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. "Ya are happy, aren't ya?"

"I'm very happy, Puppy, but..." he trailed off, averting his eyes.

"But what?" she asked softly, turning his face toward hers again.

"I'm still afraid of losing you…like Mokuba and I lost our mother. She died giving birth to him and I can't bear the thought of losing you the same way. So forgive me if I act overprotective of you. I'm just…scared. I love you."

"Oh, Seto," Joey sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I love ya, too. And we'll just take it one day at a time. That's all we can do."

* * *

_Workin' like a dog for de boss man  
Workin' for de company  
I'm bettin' on the dice I'm tossin'  
I'm gonna have a fantasy  
But where am I gonna look?  
They tell me that love is blind  
I really need a girl like an open book  
To read between the lines_

_

* * *

_

_**Joey's Pregnancy – 1st Month – Morning Sickness**_

Seto got home from work early that day because he found that he really missed having some privacy with his Puppy. Work was running smoothly, so he was able to get some well deserved time off to spend with his…well, family.

The brunet followed his nose, since he could smell freshly baked cookies in the air, and headed for the kitchen. He loved Joey's cooking. He couldn't get enough of it; especially her cookies.

He saw Joey standing at the kitchen counter next to a bowl of chocolate-chip cookie dough, waiting for a batch of cookies to finish baking in the oven. Mokuba sat at the table, as well as Ella. But Seto focused his attentions on Joey, who was temporarily ignoring his company.

The blonde looked pale.

Seto he knew he shouldn't be surprised, what with all she'd been through the past few weeks. He frowned as he watched her consume a spoonful of cookie dough. Seto still believed it couldn't be good for her, but Joey had insisted that it was okay.

But…maybe he was right. No, he knew it wasn't good for her. In fact, she was turning positively green.

Seto had barely opened his mouth to comment on this when Joey tossed the spoon into the bowl and ran from the kitchen.

He bolted after her, sprinting to the bathroom off the side of the kitchen and knocked on the door. "Joey?"

"Go away!" she groaned miserably. "I'm sick."

Seto could hear that readily enough, and the sound made him queasy as well. _Is she going to be like this throughout her whole pregnancy? _Seto thought nauseously. He took a deep breath, bracing himself, and opened the door.

Peering inside, he saw that Joey was just turning on the faucet to rinse out her mouth. Seto just stood in the doorway, feeling utterly useless. He waited until his Puppy was finished, then turned her gently around and pulled her into his arms.

"Do you want me to take you upstairs so you can go to bed?" Seto asked sensitively.

"No, I'm fine. Really, Seto," Joey replied, pushing back and looking up at him with a soft smile. "I still need to make cookies." She left his arms, took his hand, and led him back into the kitchen.

Seto followed aimlessly, wondering what possessed her to continue baking if the smell made her sick. He allowed her to push him into a chair and then he looked at Ella and Mokuba.

"She says she's fine," Seto announced, as if he were randomly searching for another answer.

"Of course she is," said Ella, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "The nausea isn't continual. And besides, it's your fault she's in her current condition in the first place!"

Joey threw an oven mitt at her and glared. Mokuba just giggled. "Just shut up! All of ya!" she snapped, but then her face went green again as she ran for the bathroom once more, this time without shutting the door behind her. They could hear Joey retching in the bathroom.

And very soon, those cookies looked less and less appealing.

* * *

_Love in an elevator  
Livin' it up when I'm goin' down  
Love in an elevator  
Lovin' it up 'til I hit the ground_

_

* * *

_

_**Joey's Pregnancy – 2nd Month – Getting a Job**_

Joey stomped into the room she shared with Seto and slammed the door shut.

How could he do this to her? All she wanted was a job! She'd been reasonable enough. Joey just wanted a secretarial job so that she could do something other than sit around the house all day. Doing things like filing papers and taking calls wasn't too strenuous, but Seto disagreed.

He said…no, _demanded_ that she go home and that would be the end of it! And she'd left without a fight! If this were really a war, Joey had done nothing but lie down and let him walk all over her. It was going to stop. She'd give him a taste of his own medicine.

"Okay, baby. We're gonna get Daddy back for yellin' at Mommy, okay?" she said, placing a hand over her stomach. She walked into the bathroom, already planning her counterattack.

* * *

_Jacki's in the elevator  
Lingerie second floor  
She said 'Can I see you later  
And love you just a little more?'  
I kinda hope we get stuck  
Nobody gets out alive  
She said I'll show ya how to fax in the mailroom honey and have you home by five_

_

* * *

_

Seto parked his car then lightly ran up the steps of the mansion. He held a single red rose in his right hand. It was hardly enough to appease his Puppy, but he hoped it was a start in the right direction.

He made his way into the kitchen, the smells of dinner drawing him in as though he were starving. He walked in, did a double-take then stopped so suddenly that he almost lost his balance. Was that…Joey? With those ridiculous…_things_ in her hair?

He approached her hesitantly, wondering what had possessed his Puppy to wrap her hair in such a way. Joey suddenly turned around and looked at him mildly. He gasped and took a step back. Her face was blue!

"What," Seto asked in a strangled voice, "have you done to yourself, Puppy?"

"I'm wearin' a beauty mask."

_A beauty mask? _Seto wasn't about to ask for the details. He laid the rose he held down on the table. "What…are those _things_ in your hair?"

"Curlers."

"They look…painful."

"They are," she replied curtly.

"And _why_…are you doing this?"

"This is what real women do. They do this sort of thing all the time."

Seto sat down at the table with a thump. Women did this sort of thing all the time? He couldn't bring himself to believe that. What kind of crap was Tea feeding his Puppy now?

And then it hit him. Joey was trying to get back at him for not allowing her to have a job. Or was it because he had yelled at her? Oh, well. Perhaps he deserved it.

Maybe…he could talk Joey into washing all that blue stuff off her face, then he'd let her do as she pleased. That prospect brightened his outlook considerably.

He waited until after dinner before he mentioned the matter.

"Puppy, that beauty mask must be awfully uncomfortable," Seto began.

"It is."

_How do I phrase my request…delicately? No idea. _So, having no other solution, he just went ahead boldly.

"Wash it off and I'll do anything you want," he offered.

Joey lifted one eyebrow. The blue mask cracked in a few places and several pieces landed in her lap.

"Anythin'?"

"Anything."

"Ya promise?"

"I promise."

Joey pushed herself away from the table. "Good. I'll start workin' as your secretary at Kaiba Corp. tomorrow mornin'," she declared authoritatively as she strode out of the kitchen to go wash her face.

Seto just sat there and stared after her blankly before he came to his senses. His eyes narrowed as a frown crossed his handsome features. _She tricked me! I can't believe I fell for that! I thought she'd choose something a little more…inappropriate. She tricked me!_

"Puppy! Come back here!"

* * *

_Love in an elevator  
Livin' it up when I'm goin' down  
Love in an elevator  
Lovin' it up 'til I hit the ground_

_

* * *

_

_**Joey's Pregnancy – 3rd Month – Doctor's Appointment**_

"But Seto! Ya promised you'd go with me today!" exclaimed Joey, looking quite fearful. Today she was supposed to get an ultrasound to make sure everything was fine and maybe even see what the gender of the baby was.

Seto grabbed her by the shoulders and looked at her with regret. "I know what I said, Puppy, but I can't go with you today. I'm sorry. I have to go into work today for a few meetings so that I can finish up some things. Then I'll be able to take the next several months off until you have the baby." _And that way I can make her stop working as my secretary. She needs to rest._

Joey pouted. She knew Seto was doing a lot for her if he was going to be off for the duration of her pregnancy. But _still_…if was her first ultrasound! What if something was wrong? She didn't want to be alone!

"Seto, I don't wanna go alone. I'm scared," Joey said quietly.

Seto sighed. "What about if Mokuba goes with you?"

"Um…okay. B-But only if he wants to."

He nodded. "Mokuba!"

"And Seto?"

"Yes, Puppy?"

"Do…ya mind if we let our baby's gender be a surprise? I wanna find out when our baby is born," Joey said meekly.

This took Seto by surprise. Their baby's gender? He'd been so excited about becoming a father that he completely forgot that their baby could be a boy or a girl.

"Sure. We'll wait. I guess that means we should start coming up with a name, huh?"

"I guess so. I can't believe this is really happenin'."

"Did you call me, Seto?" asked Mokuba.

"Yes. Do you mind going with Joey to her doctor's appointment today? She's getting an ultrasound."

"You mean we get to see the baby?" he exclaimed. "Of course I'll go. But Seto, aren't you going?"

"I can't. I really want to, but I can't. I have to finish some things at work and then I'll be home until Joey has our baby."

"You'll be home for six months?" said Mokuba, eyes widening.

"Yes. Now, can you take care of Joey while I'm gone today?"

"Sure, Seto."

"Okay. Bye, Puppy," said Seto, kissing Joey on the forehead. "I want to hear how everything goes."

"Don't worry. Ya will," she replied softly as she watched Seto walk out the door.

"Are you ready to go to your appointment Joey?" inquired Mokuba. She nodded and they left the mansion as well.

* * *

_In the air, in the air, honey one more time not it ain't fair  
Love in an elevator  
Lovin' it up when I'm goin' down_

_

* * *

_

"All right, Miss Wheeler. Are you ready?" asked her doctor. Joey nodded, holding Mokuba's hand for comfort. She was a complete bundle of nerves. "Okay. Let's have a look, shall we?"

Everyone looked at the screen. To Joey and Mokuba, they couldn't make out a thing.

"Oh, my goodness!" exclaimed the doctor, jumping up. This only frightened Joey and Mokuba.

"What is it? Is there somethin' wrong with the baby?"

The doctor seemed to realize his mistake as he turned to face her. "Oh! I'm sorry. Nothing's wrong. I was just taken by surprise, that's all. This is your first pregnancy, correct?"

"Y-Yes," Joey answered hesitantly. What was going on?

"Then I suggest you take it easy during the rest of your pregnancy. Your babies should be fine if you're careful."

"Okay," Joey replied. _Wait! Did he just say babies?_ "What do ya mean babies?"

"Yeah! What do you mean babies?" echoed Mokuba, appearing just as shocked as Joey was.

The doctor just smiled. "I have the pleasure of telling you that you're carrying triplets. You are one lucky young woman."

"Triplets! I'm having _three_ babies?" Joey asked stunned.

"That's right. Are you sure you don't want to know the gender of your babies?" her doctor asked.

"N-No. I want it to be a surprise. Besides, I think tellin' Seto we're havin' three babies is surprisin' enough right now."

Joey's doctor chuckled. "In any case, I'd still like to see you every few weeks so that we can make sure the babies are doing fine. You're free to go now," he said, leaving her and Mokuba alone.

Joey got up and walked toward the door with Mokuba. They left in silence, and that silence grew even more deafening on the way home. When they finally reached the mansion, Mokuba spoke up.

"How are you going to tell Seto?"

"What do ya mean how?" responded Joey in alarm.

"Well, are you just going to blurt it out or what?"

"I don't know!" she said as they stepped into the mansion.

"Don't know what?"

"Seto! You're home!" Joey exclaimed, her jaw practically dropping to the floor.

"I'm going to my room," Mokuba said in a rush, practically running away from them. Joey shot her arm out to catch him, but he was too quick for her.

"Traitor," she hissed.

"Puppy? What's going on? Is everything okay with the baby?" Seto asked anxiously, fiddling with his hands.

"U-Um…e-everythin's f-fine," she stammered.

Seto narrowed his eyes at her and frowned. "Puppy, tell me the truth."

Joey sighed deeply. "Everythin' is fine, Seto. It's just that…we're not…havin' what we expected," she said slowly.

Seto gasped. "You mean you lost the baby?"

"What? No!" _Aah! I didn't mean to make him think that! Oh! I should just tell him._

"Then what do you mean, Joey?" said Seto firmly, walking up to her and embracing her gently.

She sighed again and rested her head in the crook of his neck. "We're not just havin' one baby," she began, letting it sink in. "I'm pregnant with triplets, Seto."

Seto felt his heart stop. "Triplets? We're having…three…babies?"

Joey pulled back so she could look at his face. "Yes, we are. Is that okay with ya?"

He laughed and twirled her around, kissing her passionately before he stopped abruptly. "I shouldn't have done that. I need to be careful with you from now on."

"Seto, I'm not suddenly made of glass, ya know," she giggled.

"Oh! Right! You're not made of glass!" Seto echoed as if he were reassuring himself of that.

Joey looked at him strangely. Was it just her or was Seto getting progressively stupider the further she went into her pregnancy?

* * *

_Love in an  
Elevator  
Goin' down_

_

* * *

_

_**Joey's Pregnancy – 4th Month – Cravings **_

"Uh…Puppy?" Seto asked slowly as he walked into the kitchen. Joey was currently sitting at the table, a number of…questionable foods in front of her. For the past month, the blonde had been having rather…strange cravings. Many of them quite…grotesque.

"Yes, Seto?" Joey replied, her mouth full.

Great. Now how was he going to say this carefully enough so that his Puppy wouldn't get mad at him? Seto cleared his throat. "What are you eating?"

"Oh! I've got a peanut butter and bacon sandwich, a toasted bagel with cream cheese and pickles, and chocolate tuna mac," she answered in a cheerful voice.

Seto raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Chocolate…tuna…mac? What the hell is that?" And did he even want to know?

"When I was makin' the macaroni and cheese, I added chocolate milk instead of plain milk and just tossed in some tuna. It's really sweet, but has a slightly fishy taste. Ya want some?" Joey rambled, offering Seto a forkful of the…nasty, er….chocolate tuna mac.

Seto paled and started feeling queasy. "No thank you, Puppy. You just go right ahead and…enjoy your meal. I'm gonna….go…do stuff," he answered quickly as he fled the kitchen.

Joey thought Seto's behavior was quite odd, but she just shrugged her shoulders and continued eating.

* * *

_Love in an elevator  
Lovin' it up when I'm goin' down  
Love in an elevator  
Lovin' it up when I hit the ground_

_

* * *

_

_**Joey's Pregnancy – 5th Month – Baby Kicks**_

"Seto!"

He practically jumped out of his skin when he heard Joey scream. Racing out of his bedroom, he flew down the stairs in search of his Puppy.

"Seto! Hurry!"

He didn't have to be told that twice. He flew across the floor and burst into the living room, only to see-

Joey standing in the middle of the room appearing absolutely fine.

"Puppy? What's wrong?" he asked in a panicky voice…just to be sure.

"Come here," Joey whispered.

Seto walked up to her gradually, but nearly jumped backward when Joey's hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.

"What're you-" He silenced himself when Joey lifted her shirt and placed his hand over her slightly protruding stomach. His eyes widened in surprise when he felt his babies kicking inside. "Is that-"

"Yes!" Joey exclaimed, nodding her head vigorously. "They've been playin' all mornin'…kickin' my bladder in the process," she growled. "Do ya know how many times I've gone to the bathroom today because it felt like I had to go? It's like they're havin' a party in there!"

Seto chuckled as he gently stroked her stomach. Leading her over to the couch, they sat down while the brunet played with their babies. One of the baby's elbows—or what he assumed was the elbow—looked like it was sticking out of Joey's stomach. Ever so slightly, Seto pushed at the elbow. The baby seemed to push back.

Joey smiled at Seto's boyish expression. He looked so innocent and pure as he played with their babies in her stomach. Her grin widened when Seto placed a tender kiss on her stomach and turned to face her, his eyes misting over.

"I can't wait for them to be born. I want to hold them in my arms," he said softly, sighing as he gently laid his head on Joey's stomach.

"I can't wait for that either," she replied, running her fingers through Seto's hair. "I wonder who they'll take after."

"I hope they're as beautiful and as sweet as you," Seto answered, sitting up so that he could cuddle up next to her.

Joey giggled at Seto's statement, but her smile slowly began to fade as something occurred to her. What if they had Seto's brains, her street smarts, and Mokuba's charm? They'd be like the ultimate spawns of Satan then!

"What's wrong, Puppy?" Seto inquired, not sure how to take in Joey's increasingly horrified expression.

"What…if they have your brains?"

"I see nothing wrong with tha-"

"And my street smarts?"

"We can-"

"And Mokuba's charm?"

"Why is tha-oh. I…see what you mean," said Seto, his expression now matching Joey's. Three children who had Seto's genius, Joey's keen ability to read people, and Mokuba's knack for manipulating people into doing anything wasn't a very good combination.

At least for other people. But it would be awhile before they got to that stage of their lives.

* * *

_Gonna be a penthouse pauper  
Gonna be a millionaire  
I'm gonna be a real fast talker  
And have me a love affair_

_

* * *

_

_**Joey's Pregnancy – 6th Month – Mood Swings**_

"Ya don't love me anymore!" Joey screeched, throwing the closest thing she had on hand at Seto's head, which just so happened to be a stapler. It struck the wall instead of Joey's intended target.

"Puppy! Joey! I do love you! I _do_ love you!" Seto shrieked back reassuringly, ducking a lamp this time.

"No ya don't! How could ya love someone like me?"

"Joey! I really don't know what you mean!" he screamed as he dove behind the couch, nearly missing the laptop Joey threw at him. It shattered into hundreds of pieces when it hit the floor.

"Yes ya do! Look at me! How can ya love me like this? I'm so fat!" Joey wailed, forgoing her quite destructive rampage.

Peeking over the top of the couch, Seto rose when he figured the coast was clear. "Puppy, you're not fat. You're just carrying three babies. That's all," he said, trying to console her.

She stopped crying to glare at him menacingly. Seto could literally see the fire in her eyes. "I look like I swallowed three beach balls!" she snapped, looking ready to throw something at him again.

_Shit! What do I do now?_ "Joey, you're beautiful," Seto replied gently, mustering up enough courage to walk up to her. Pulling Joey into his arms, he said. "You're beautiful," he repeated. "And do you know why?"

Joey's glare faded as she looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. "Why?"

"Because you're carrying _our_ babies. They're _our _babies, Puppy. A part of both me and you. And to know that they are growing inside of you makes me the happiest person in the world. I am so lucky to have you…and our little ones."

Joey's tears disappeared as she smiled up at him, joy lighting up her face. "That's so sweet, Seto," she said. "Oh! And I've decided that I wanna have the babies here. Ella's gonna be my midwife! Is…that all right with ya?"

Seto, afraid that he might tick her off, reluctantly gave into her request. But the thought was somewhat appealing. Joey having their babies in the Kaiba Mansion sounded…exciting. But he'd have a real doctor on call anyway.

"Thank ya so much, Seto," Joey said, trying to hug him, but her…enlarged stomach got in the way. Her happy face soon evolved into a dreadful frown as her mood changed once again. "No! I am fat! I can't even hug ya!" she screamed as she marched off to grab some more ammo to throw at the fleeing brunet.

* * *

_Gotta get my timin' right  
It's a test that I gotta pass  
I'll chase you all the way to the stairway honey  
Kiss your sassafras_

_

* * *

_

_**Joey's Pregnancy – 7th Month – Sympathizing **_

Seto frowned as he looked at his pants. He'd been struggling to get them on all morning.

"What's wrong, Seto?" Joey asked as she came into their bedroom.

"My pants don't fit," he replied bluntly.

"What do ya mean your pants don't fit? They fit perfectly well a few days ago," she said, walking over to him. Joey reached down and tried to button them, finding it a bit difficult. "These are tight," she huffed. "Maybe they shrank in the wash. Go put on another pair then."

"I did. They're all like this," Seto announced sheepishly. That's when Joey noticed all the pants strewn across the room. Mokuba chose that time to come in.

"Whoa! What happened in here?" Mokuba exclaimed.

"Um…Seto's pants won't fit him," Joey said. Seto slowly sat down on the edge of the bed and grimaced, putting a hand to his lower back. "What's the matter now?"

Seto put his face in his hands and groaned. "My back hurts, my pants don't fit, I'm tired and crankier than usual, and…mynipplesaresore," he mumbled.

"What was that last part?" asked Mokuba with a mischievous look on his face.

"I said…my nipples are sore." At this Joey and Mokuba laughed. "What? They're tender, okay? Just shut up and leave me alone!"

Mokuba calmed down enough to ask something. "Is there anything else?"

Seto seemed to think about this for a moment before his stomach grumbled. "I want ice cream," he said suddenly.

Mokuba started cracking up again. "S-Seto, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that you're pregnant!"

Seto visibly paled before he lost it. "What do you mean pregnant? I'm not pregnant! How the hell could I be pregnant?"

"Not in the literal sense, Seto. I think you have Couvade Syndrome. Basically, it's male sympathetic pregnancy. Sometimes men will have the same symptoms of pregnancy as their pregnant partners. I think you're sympathizing with Joey, that's why you're experiencing these…bizarre symptoms."

Seto closed his eyes and sighed in frustration while Joey appeared to be holding in her laughter. Suddenly, his eyes popped open and he stood up from the bed. Changing into a pair of sweats, he took Joey's hand and they walked out of the room.

"Where are we goin'?" Joey asked in confusion.

"Kitchen. We're getting some ice cream."

* * *

_Love in an elevator  
Lovin' it up when I'm goin' down  
Love in an elevator  
Livin' it up 'til I hit the ground_

_

* * *

_

_**Joey's Pregnancy – 8th Month – The Nursery**_

"Um…Seto? I don't mean to be rude or anythin' but…WHAT THE HELL IS ALL THIS CRAP?" Joey screamed as she walked into the nursery. It was a disaster! Seto was sprawled out on the floor with maybe…hundreds of bags and boxes of who knows what. And the crazy thing was…it was all stuff for their unborn children.

Seto turned to face her, looking quite innocent. "It's not crap, Puppy. It stuff for our babies. Go ahead. Take a look."

Joey waddled over and sat down in a comfortable armchair that was in the room, where Seto handed her a bag. "Go ahead," he urged.

She took the bag and peeked inside. Her mouth dropped open in amazement. Tears came to her eyes as she pulled out three sets of bodysuits with a print of a Blue-Eyes White Dragon on them. There was another set of three with a print of a Red-Eyes Black Dragon on them. "Oh, Seto. These are adorable."

Seto laughed shyly. "I…was going to ask you to come shopping with me, but you looked so peaceful sleeping that I didn't want to disturb you, so I just…bought everything. You can pick out whatever you want to keep and we can send the rest back if you want. I know I got carried away, but when I walked into the store, I saw everything and I didn't know what you would like. And we don't know if we're having boys or girls or a combination of both, so I got all neutral stuff," he rambled.

Joey smiled at him warmly. She loved it when he rambled. He could be so shy and self-conscious at times. "Okay. Let's look through everythin' and decide together, shall we?"

Seto nodded then started blushing furiously. "Um…there is one thing that I really want to keep, though."

"And what's that?" Joey was curious as to why he was blushing.

Seto reached over for another bag and pulled out three one-pieces with hoods. Joey giggled. The one-pieces were made to look like the body of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon with the hoods looking like the heads of them.

"Why are you laughing?" Seto asked, his blush growing darker.

"Because…it's just…so _you_! Ya have three Blue-Eyes White Dragons in your deck and dressing up our babies like this is just way too funny. I guess you're finally gonna get your chibi Blue-Eyes', huh?"

"That's not it at all!" exclaimed Seto, looking even more embarrassed now than he was before. "I just thought they were…cute…"

"Oh, Seto. Sometimes you're just too adorable. We'll keep those outfits so ya can dress up your little baby dragons, okay?" she giggled.

Seto leaned up and kissed her lightly on the lips. "Okay."

"And Seto? Can ya do me a favor?"

"Anything."

"Can ya please make the nursery livable again before our babies are born?"

Seto cringed and looked at the disaster that was the nursery. This was going to take forever. Oh, well. That's what maids were for.

* * *

_Do you care? Do you care?  
Honey one more time now it ain't fair.  
Love in an elevator  
Livin' it up when I'm goin' down_

_

* * *

_

_**Joey's Pregnancy – 9th Month – Going Down**_

Seto was pissed.

Joey was pissed.

Seto was pissed because Joey, at nine months pregnant, came with him to Kaiba Corp. to help out with some problem his employees couldn't seem to fix.

Joey was pissed because Seto was pissed that she came along. The truth was that she didn't want Seto to leave her sight until the babies were born. She was afraid of him missing that special moment.

"Finally, we can go home," Seto groaned as they headed for the elevator. The brunet hit the button and they waited for the door to open. With a ping, the door opened wide and they stepped inside. Pressing the button that would take them to the main floor, the door closed, and the elevator started moving down.

That was until it suddenly jolted and stopped altogether.

The elevator was stuck.

Seto growled and smacked the control panel when he couldn't get the elevator moving again. "It looks like we're going to be stuck here for awhile, Puppy."

"Ya better get me the hell outta here, Seto! My damn water just broke!" screamed Joey.

He spun around to see his Puppy gripping the bars in the elevator, her face contorted in pain from contractions, a small puddle of liquid on the floor between her legs.

"Oh, shit!" Seto gasped. Joey suddenly grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and yanked him toward her.

"Get me the fuck outta here! I'm not gonna have my babies in the fuckin' elevator of your shitty ass company!"

* * *

**End Chapter**


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Sweet Emotion by Aerosmith

*Rated M for Mature

* * *

**Chapter 7 – Sweet Emotion**

"Seto! Hurry up!" shrieked Joey when she felt another contraction.

Seto practically ripped open the control box and started messing with the wires. After being shocked a few times, the elevator started running again. He raced over to Joey and supported her gently around the waist.

"Okay, Puppy. The elevator's running. We're getting out of here. Don't worry. I'll take you to the hospital and-"

"No! No hospital! I'm havin' my babies at home and that's final!" Joey yelled, a menacing glare on her face. It seemed like her aura was completely detrimental, and if she could, she'd blow up Kaiba Corp., or Seto for that matter, in the blink of an eye if she didn't get her way.

The elevator door finally opened and Seto hurriedly whisked Joey out of it.

"Seto! Seto! Wait! Call my friends and tell them I'm havin' my babies!" Joey said anxiously.

Seto growled. She was going have them here if they didn't hurry. He turned to one of his employees, thankful that it was one of his secretaries. "Call all of Joey's contacts and tell them to get their sorry asses to the Kaiba Mansion. The babies are coming!" he snapped. His secretary practically fell over her desk in trying to reach the phone to do what he ordered, leaving Seto to get Joey into his car outside.

* * *

_Talk about things and nobody cares  
Wearing other things that nobody wears  
Ya callin' my name, but I gotta make it clear  
Can't say where I'm gonna be in a year._

_

* * *

_

After getting Joey safely seated in the passenger side, he sprinted to the driver's seat, started the car, and started racing through Domino in order to get to Kaiba Mansion.

"Ohhh! Seto! Please hurry! Hurry!" Joey panted, the time between her contractions lessening.

"Okay, Puppy. Just hold on," he answered quickly, stomping on the gas pedal. Joey screamed. He wasn't sure if it was because of the pain of her contractions or his driving.

* * *

_Some sweat hog mama with a face like a gent  
Said my get up and go musta got up and went.  
You got good news but you're a real good liar  
Cause backstage lover set your pants on fire._

_

* * *

_

Joey lay in the bed in their room, breathing heavily as her contractions grew closer together. Seto stood next to her looking utterly helpless; he paled every time she screamed in pain. Mokuba stood there as white as a sheet; he didn't know why he was there, why he should be there, and why he didn't just run away; but Seto and Joey needed him and he wasn't about to let them down.

Ella knelt between Joey's legs, since she was going to be the one delivering the babies, and shouted out directions every few minutes.

At a particularly painful contraction, Joey's hand shot out and grabbed Seto's. He cringed at her unbreakable grip; it felt as if she were breaking every bone in his hand. Taking a few deep breaths, he said, "Yes, Puppy. Just squeeze my hand if it hurts, okay?" He tried to sound reassuring, but it didn't go over too well with Joey.

"Squeeze if it hurts? SQUEEZE IF IT HURTS? How about I tie a rope to your fuckin' balls and yank on it every time I have a fuckin' contraction? Then you'll _really _feel my pain, ya stupid bastard!" she screamed.

Upon hearing this, Seto desperately tried to get his hand back lest Joey make her statement come true, yet to no avail. He turned his eyes to Mokuba, pleading for help, but he just stood there silently.

"All right. Joey, when I say so, I want you to push, okay?" said Ella.

"Okay," the blonde said, nodding her head quickly, taking deep breaths.

"Yeah, Puppy. Listen to Ella. Everything's going to be fine," Seto said, trying to be reassuring again. He wondered if it worked this time. Apparently not. Joey looked like she was about to blow a fuse.

"Everythin's gonna be fine? You're the one who did this to me ya fuckin' bastard! Idiotic, stupid asshole! Ah! Ya and your shitty company and your…oohh…brain dead employees who made me this way! If you'd…aahhn…had so much as a little fuckin' self control, this wouldn't be fuckin' happenin' to me!" Joey collapsed against the bed after her tantrum, only to be hit with another contraction. This one hurt a lot more than the others.

"Okay, Joey. I need you to push! Push!" ordered Ella.

* * *

_Sweet Emotion_

_Sweet Emotion_

_Pulled into town in a police car  
Your daddy said I took you just a little too far.  
Tellin' other things, but your girlfriend lied  
Can't catch me cause the rabbit done died._

_

* * *

_

Considering all the people gathered in the Kaiba Mansion, there should have been a great deal of noise. Instead, there was silence, except for the occasional creak of a chair or a deep sigh. Just about everyone was there: Yugi, Yami, Tristan, Tea, Duke, Ryou, Bakura, Malik, Marik, Solomon, and Serenity. They were awaiting news and praying that the news would be good. It had been a night of waiting, of listening first to the muffled moans of pain that carried throughout the mansion, then straining to hear any sound at all.

Suddenly, there was the sound of swiftly descending feet, and a disheveled Mokuba appeared at the bottom of the stairs. His face was lit up with delight and relief.

"It's a girl," he announced, as boastfully as if he had fathered and delivered the baby himself.

"Mokuba!"

The bellow from upstairs, which was undoubtedly Seto, sent he young boy scurrying back up the stairs again.

The group wasn't sure if relief or more praying was called for. Serenity began to cry.

About twenty minutes passed before Mokuba's footsteps were heard again. He appeared, looking even more disheveled than before.

"Another girl! Seto and Joey have two girls!"

"Mokuba!"

The group jumped to their feet and began to pace. Two babies? And another yell? Everyone held their breath when Mokuba appeared a third time.

"Another baby! A girl! Help me if there's another one!"

Mokuba fell forward and hit the floor with a weary thump. Serenity took charge at that point and saw to it that everyone left in peace. It was only after she had chased everyone away that she roused Mokuba and told him, because she couldn't resist, that he was the proud uncle of four children.

When she saw his horrified expression, she laughed and told him it was still only three baby girls.

The young boy sighed in relief.

* * *

_Standin' in front just shakin' your ass.  
Take you back stage you can drink from my glass.  
Talk about something you can sure understand  
Cause a month on the road and I'll be eatin' from your hand._

_

* * *

_

Joey woke, tired but happy. She looked to her right and saw Seto sitting in a comfortable chair, asleep…and snoring softly. He was holding onto his newborn daughters, one in his right arm, one in the crook of his left, and the other on his thighs—safely, of course. Joey turned on her side, surprised at how easily she did it.

Seto had been so surprised at how fast things were going through her labor that he'd come close to tearing his hair out. He hadn't been much help either, since he had spent more time yelling at Ella than helping her with her breathing. But Joey understood that it had been his fear for her wellbeing that made him so…irrational. And she loved him so much more for it.

Joey sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. It was uncomfortable, but not painful. That was good, at least. Reaching over, she lightly touched Seto's knee.

"Seto?"

He opened his eyes almost immediately and sat up, making two of his small daughters whine in protest. Joey took number three and cuddled her close, but her eyes were on Seto.

"Ya need to lie down."

"I'm bonding, Puppy," Seto said, readjusting the babies in his arms.

"You're snorin'," Joey deadpanned. "None of us can sleep with all that noise."

Seto glared at her then rose from his seat, carefully carrying his children to the bed. Joey lay on the left side of the bed, Seto on the right, with their three children—Kohana, Sumi, and Miyoko—in between them. Seto and Joey clasped their hands together around their children and smiled lovingly at them.

"I love you, Joey. And I love our little angels," Seto said endearingly.

She laughed. "They won't be little angels for long. Soon they'll be cryin' and fussin' and pukin'…but they'll also be playin' and laughin' and smilin'. I just hope they don't grow up too fast."

"They won't. And if they do, we can always have more," Seto said, looking at Joey devotedly.

"Ya want to have more children?" Joey asked in astonishment. She'd just given birth to three beautiful baby girls and Seto wanted to have more?

"Well…" Seto began sheepishly, "can we try for at least one boy? Just one?" Seto knew saying that was a mistake. He'd probably end up having ten girls before he finally got a boy. He was completely happy and pleased with having his daughters, but he really wanted a boy, too.

Joey stared at him for a moment before she said anything. "Not until they're three. They'll be potty-trained by then. And then we'll talk about havin' more, okay?"

"Okay," Seto replied, smiling.

"Besides, there's always a chance that Mokuba can get ya some nephews," she said with a smirk.

"Not until he's married," Seto quipped. "And speaking of which…I know these past few months have been…all but easy…but, Joey? Would you do the honor of marrying me?" he asked, releasing her hand to pull out a small black box from beneath the pillow. He opened it to reveal a beautiful silver ring encrusted with small sapphires and rubies. "Puppy?"

Joey's eyes filled with tears. "Of course I'll marry ya, Seto!" She allowed him to place the ring on her finger and Seto leaned over and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips.

The blonde sighed contentedly. She couldn't ask for anything more; she had her own family and she was going to marry the man of her dreams.

Could life be any more perfect?

* * *

**End**


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